Accident Details
During her initial flight home, the pilot encountered adverse weather and opted to land at an intermediate airport. While on the ground, she communicated with her spouse, who provided weather updates from the local FAA Flight Service Station (FSS). Initially, they decided she would stay overnight and he would drive to retrieve her. Approximately one hour later, they agreed it would be safe for her to resume the flight if she took an alternate route southward, away from the approaching weather, and then proceed west to her intended destination once conditions improved.
The pilot informed her spouse that she would file a flight plan in the air, but no record of a flight plan was found. When the pilot failed to arrive at her destination, her spouse notified the FAA. Search and rescue teams located the wreckage five days after the accident in a mountainous canyon area.
Wreckage and Site Description
The airplane came to rest on the side of a canyon wall, oriented uphill, after clipping several trees. The accident site was approximately 200 feet below a mesa, at an elevation of 4,600 feet. Investigators found all major components of the airplane. The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) had deployed due to impact forces and was lying beside the airplane in the debris field.
Mechanical and Communications Findings
Inspections of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. No radio communications were received by any air traffic control facilities from the pilot during the accident flight.
Weather Conditions
At the time of the accident, weather in the area included cloud bases near 6,000 feet and cloud tops above 15,000 feet. Visibilities ranged from 0 miles in clouds to 3 miles below clouds, with a freezing level near 6,500 feet. Another pilot flying northeast of the accident site reported moderate rime and mixed icing conditions from 8,500 feet to 16,000 feet. Recorded weather briefings between the FAA FSS and the pilot's spouse indicated that he received all pertinent weather information for the flight. The spouse relayed that he told her there were no buildups for a flight to the southeast. An in-flight weather advisory (AIRMET Zulu Update 4) for icing, issued by the National Weather Service for the time of the accident, reported moderate icing between 9,000 and 18,000 feet, with a forecast freezing level between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. The FAA-approved airplane flight manual contains multiple indications that flight into known icing is prohibited.
Additional Information
Astronomical data from the US Naval Observatory indicates that sunset on December 18 occurred at 1724 MST, and the moon was below the horizon.