Background
A Canadian-registered aircraft departed from Canon City, Colorado, en route to Gunnison, Colorado, for refueling. The flight was a cross-country trip intended to allow the pilot to build flight time toward a commercial certificate. The aircraft was flying in formation with another Canadian-registered aircraft. Onboard were a private pilot, an instructor-rated passenger, and two additional passengers.
Flight Events
The pilot was navigating via pilotage when he noticed he was flying north instead of west. The instructor-rated passenger in the other aircraft advised the pilot to fly a magnetic heading of 240 degrees. The pilot then lost visual contact with the other aircraft and made a turn over the wrong checkpoint. The aircraft was at an altitude of 10,800 feet MSL and climbing slowly when the pilot saw higher terrain ahead. The aircraft entered a blind canyon, and the pilot could not reverse course.
The instructor-rated passenger took control of the aircraft and purposely stalled it into a snow-covered 12,000-foot mountain. The other aircraft landed safely at Gunnison.