Accident Overview
The accident occurred during a backcountry flying trip. The day before, the pilot and a passenger arrived at a remote airport in a mountainous area and set up camp, intending to fly in the region for several days. According to the pilot's logbook, this was only his second such trip, the first having taken place about 11 months earlier.
Flight Details
The purpose of the accident flight was to travel approximately 15 nautical miles north to another backcountry airport, where the pair planned to have breakfast at a lodge before returning. No flight plan was filed. While the passenger believed other pilots knew their destination and intended return time, this was not the case.
Sequence of Events
The passenger reported that other airplanes departed first, and then their airplane took off. While flying within canyon walls, the pilot made several turns. As they proceeded up a drainage, the pilot remarked that it was the "wrong drainage." Shortly thereafter, the stall warning horn activated. The passenger stated there was "no time or room to turn around," and the airplane could not outclimb the rising terrain, impacting the ground.
Injuries and Survival
The pilot sustained a skull fracture and died approximately 10 to 12 hours after the crash. The passenger was injured but ambulatory and remained with the wreckage awaiting rescue. She was aware of a survival kit in the airplane and made use of it during the three days she waited for help.
Search and Rescue
A search was not initiated until two days after the accident, when a caretaker at the departure airport noticed that the couple's camping gear was still there. The wreckage was located by an aerial search airplane three days after the accident. The accident site was about 8 nautical miles north of the departure airport, at an elevation of approximately 8,000 feet on the south side of an east-west ridgeline.
Aircraft Examination
Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation. No Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal was received from the airplane. The ELT was tested and found to function normally; the reason it did not activate upon impact could not be determined. The passenger reported she was not aware of the location or function of the ELT and therefore did not attempt to activate it manually.