Old-time instructor, A&P, IA who flew for a living. Condolences to his friends and family.

http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/searchers-locate-pilot-s-body-at-wyoming-crash-site/article_3abfa81d-871c-59f0-866f-eacb4743fdfe.html

Continued flight into poor Wx over a notoriously rough stretch of terrain here in Wyoming. Not the first plane lost in that area and, sadly, probably won't be the last. Sounds like he survived the crash, but passed from his injuries or the elements. Sad to say, he probably flew right over the Saratoga airport only 10 or 15 miles before continuing into the mountains where he crashed.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=937&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43287494,d.b2I&q=pennock+mountain+wyoming&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x875d59ad61b52c13:0xbff44bd8f544f9a4,Pennock+Mountain&gl=us&t=p&sa=X&ei=k2g3UfSyHKfg2QWgwwE&ved=0CC0Q8gEwAA

Be safe out there, all.

I had met Gordon Davis a few times in Tehachapi. Old school owner of a one-man small airport shop. He was the CFI and the mechanic and the receptionist. A friend of mine was pretty close with him. Part of the story is that he was on his way to see his ailing and elderly father in WY. So "get-home-itis" could have been a factor. My friend also mentioned another possibility in his e-mail to me:

" I suspect there could have been a medical problem, as I noted that Gordon was not well the weeks before the crash, as I flew with Gordon in his plane during a biennial several weeks ago. He had a bad caugh and cold he couldn't shake. But this is just conjecture on my part."

Rest in Peace.

We will see if it is CFIT or lose of control after investigation probably. Thanks for your knowledge of the pilot.

Sad story. Coming from Tehachapi, he should have been used to high altitude in a 172. I learned to fly in Laramie, 7165, and the Medicine Bow Mtns. east of Saratoga go up to 12,xxx', and if the tops were obscured, little chance a 172 would do well there.

Sure an example of why you need to know the terrain--and why weather isn't something to fool with. I instructed out of Laramie for several years and did SE charters as well. From Saratoga to Laramie over the pass between Kennady Peak and Pennock is doable in a 172, as is the pass between Pennock and Elk Mountain, in good weather--did both many times. But the safest route is north of Elk Mountain, basically following I-80, if the weather is the slightest iffy. The winds through there can be pretty tough as well, and I still won't touch south of Elk Mountain if the winds are above about 20 knots.

Condolences for his family. I knew a Gordon Davis in Laramie--might have been his father. Very sad.

Cary

Addendum, just received from my friend Tim Farmer in Tehachapi:

"I just received more info re Gordon: He crash-landed his plane on a level area in the Wyoming moutains. He appaqrently left his plane, then died of cold weather exposurer near the plane. What a shame! Apparently his plane was not heavily damaged."

Now I know I'm just a city boy with not that much experience out in the back country... but I'm pretty damn sure I would have been carrying a very significant amount of warm clothing and shelter if I were flying from Tehachapi to Wyoming in March.

406PLB 406PLB 406PLB 406PLB 406PLB 406PLB 406PLB 406PLB sit in the plane and wait for the chopper taxi

Never leave the mother ship...

Eddy Aikau made that final error on the Hokolea after a gale to save the raft. Raft made it, Eddy did not.

Couple thoughts--but mostly idle speculation at this point.

First, the news article said he was in a deep canyon on the southeast side of Pennock Mountain. If that is true, it could be that he got over the hump and then got caught in a downdraft rotor that put him down and/or ran into a wall of weather and couldn't get back over the rocks behind him. The wind usually howls from the west in that area, which would support the downdraft theory on the eastern slope (reminiscent of the guy who went down in the Mooney last winter in the Winds with his kids). It also makes me wonder how much control he had over where he set down (i.e., was he able to pick a flat spot to land, or was he forced to take what was right in front of him and he was lucky to come away from the crash as good as he did).

Second, a good friend of his, posting on another board, has stated that the pilot had flown this trip before, and that he was well equipped with emergency supplies. He also said the normal trip route didn't usually take him past this location, which makes one wonder whether he had to divert due to wind or weather (or, possibly, medical).

Third, the news stories said he was found outside the plane under the wing, which makes it hard to know whether his emergency supplies were simply inadequate for the tough conditions, whether he left the plane and got too cold and simply couldn't recover once he got back to the plane, whether the news story is wrong about where he was found, and/or whether he sustained other injuries in the crash (or had a preexisting condition) that contributed to his passing.

Fourth, I agree with the prior comments that this can be a gnarly wind tunnel with some very rugged terrain underneath. I would be very reluctant to fly between Elk Mountain and Pennock with anything over 20 for winds. This is especially true when you can fly about 40 miles up to the interstate and get around the worst of the terrain by staying north of Elk Mountain. Still not a fun place in tough conditions, but at least you have some more air beneath you.

Fifth, I agree with Rob. If he was well enough to get out of the plane (and not impaired by a head injury or some other physical problem), he presumably could have pressed the button on a SPOT or PLB. I know search and rescue spent the night looking for him on Sunday, and it may have made all the difference if they had a specific fix on his location.

No disrespect whatsoever intended to the pilot--he sounded like a great guy, and I am very sorry for the loss to his family and friends. Just trying to learn what I can from these tragedies to try and keep them from happening again if possible.

Very sad. The area described as where he landed is pretty rough when it is windy, and things change very fast there.

Cary is right about I-80, and Saratoga isn't so bad to be stuck at (Saratoga Lodge). Trying to go around weather to the south is a waste of time usually, and there's no place except Medicine Bow up north to call it a day in a hurry if you need to (not a great place to get stuck). I-80 is free of power lines most of the way to Laramie proper from Rawlins. Heck- Rawlins has a nice courtesy beast,a decent diner, and hangar space to get out of the weather.

The best preventative therapy for get-there-itis is a good book, some tasty snacks, and a warm bedroll in the plane just in case. There just doesn't seem to be a cure once you catch it.

I don't think it's disrespecting an unfortunate pilot to try to figure out what went wrong, so that we can avoid the same fate. I love flying in the mountains as much as anyone here, and we all know that there are a lot of risks flying among the rocks. But we have to try to minimize those risks to the extent we can. When there's a much safer alternate route to get somewhere, it makes sense to me to use that alternate route. In this case, staying north of Elk Mountain would have added maybe 15 minutes at 172 speeds, assuming Rawlins to Medicine Bow to Laramie vs. Rawlins to Laramie direct. If he had chosen to go across and got caught in the Saratoga Valley with the weather the way it was, there's always Saratoga or even the A-A to set down, which are probably both open, though Cedar Creek is probably snowed in, plus State 230 and some other lesser roads.

Still very sad.

Cary

Also a sobering reminder that it can still take days to be found after a wreck, even in the lower 48. This, along with that horrible recent crash in Utah with the mom and little girl, looks like another example where the victim survived the crash but didn't have adequate tech to get found quickly and/or adequate supplies to last until found.

x2 regarding staying with the plane. Having had a dab of experience facing the prospect of an unexpected night out in rough country at temps well below zero, I can attest to the terrible feeling of panic that makes you think you're better off doing something rather than just sitting there and waiting. Lucky for me, I didn't ultimately have to make that choice. However, even knowing what I know, it still would have been one of the hardest choices I've ever made to sit there and wait it out. I only share this because these lessons are a lot cheaper if we can learn them from someone else, rather than having to figure them out the hard way for ourselves.

I carry a full backpack, small expedition style, in the aircraft ready to packup/pack out during an incident or accident. Airplanes can crash into places that will almost never be found. I.e. Steve Fosset's Citabria ( owned by Hilton).

But, most of the time an aircraft can be found if the flight is planned and executed with flight following or other services.

My friend ditched 30 miles offshore in the Kauai Channel and was on his way home in a H65 within 45 minutes. It would have not been that way without flight following. He forgot to bring a raft, vest, flares and his EPIRB sunk. Flight following is good. I was on Molokai, kicking back on my boat, and heard the whole thing on CH 16. It blew my mind! (Type: RV8, loss off power)

Sad deal for sure............... I first saw a problem when the auto notification TFR notice came through to my inbox.. Once again the CAP had blocked the area so they could be the ones to get the glory...... And once again the CAP flew hours and even with a ELT going off they cound NOT find it.... A Air National Guard heli found it within a few minutes of their first search....... If I ever go missing, I hope someone busts the TFR and comes to get me...

Stol wrote:Sad deal for sure............... I first saw a problem when the auto notification TFR notice came through to my inbox.. Once again the CAP had blocked the area so they could be the ones to get the glory...... And once again the CAP flew hours and even with a ELT going off they cound NOT find it.... A Air National Guard heli found it within a few minutes of their first search....... If I ever go missing, I hope someone busts the TFR and comes to get me...

No kidding there, CAP is broken, someone needs to fix it or disband it. They're costing lives instead of saving them.

Does CAP have EPIRB ADF that works? Why no joy on signal?

TFR for vast WY? Looking for one small aircraft, that's insane?

This is a picture shot from old Highway 30 west of Hanna WY north of I-80 back in '03. Two years ago we flew on the south side of the mountain on a clear day and got our asses kicked headed east toward home..never again. The Medicine Bow Mountains are behind Elk Mountain but as you see in the photo, north of the Mtn is fairly wide open country. I know of several planes that have went down while going south of the mountain either in the dark or in snow storms. Anybody who has driven I-80 between Laramie and Rawlins knows what kind of wind and weather this country can produce.
Condolences to family and loved ones.
Please when you are flying in this area, Give Elk Mountain serious consideration!
HC

Spot has been the only reasonably priced tracking and SOS device for a few years. It's one-way, and reliability has been spotty at times.

I've had my Delorme InReach since August. Two-way sat comm with SOS and text messaging (using a paired smart phone) can text any text capable phone or email address. Uses the Iridium sat network so works anywhere in the world, and is more reliable than Spot's Globalstar. Tracking can be as often as once per minute with aviation plans. I have not yet seen a missed tracking fix or message, though once, at the bottom of a steep walled Idaho canyon, a text message took about 5 minutes to get out - - probably had to wait for a sat to come into view. Still, unlike Spot, it *knows* it hasn't sent the message successfully so it keeps trying until its acknowledged.

More expensive than Spot, InReach is $250 and the plans are also a bit steeper . . . but IMO worth it.

I carry a PLB too. Going to add a down bag and small tent to my kit - - freezing whilst waiting rescue is not appealing.

Bumper, I don't know anything about it other than this article, but it looks like SpiderTracks is upgrading to a similar real-time and two-way comm arrangement as well.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/SpidertracksAddsRealTimeFeatures_208280-1.html



In terms of gear, I've started carrying a light set of snow shoes in winter, but have promised myself I'll only use them for gathering firewood if needed. I also carry a small expedition camp stove in my kit, for fast reliable fire no matter the conditions.

Survival gear is just about the cheapest part of flying. Far to many pilots refuse to buy it and carry it. Why? Denial. It will never happen to me syndrome.

Consider your loved ones, the SAR people risking their lives. I have the old 121.5 in the plane, SPOT (I find where I fly 98% effective) and most important a 406 GPS PLB in my pocket.

G'Day