History of Flight
On May 6, 2014, at 1159 mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20C, registration N6704U, collided with mountainous terrain near Cody, Wyoming. The airplane was operated by the pilot/owner under 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot/owner and a private pilot-rated passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and both wings. The cross-country personal flight departed Yellowstone Regional Airport, Cody, about 1140, with a presumed destination of Twin Falls, Idaho. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site, and no flight plan had been filed.
The occupants, who were brothers, had departed Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 28 with the intention of touring the country. Their ultimate destination was Seattle, Washington, planned by May 11. Family members became concerned by May 8 and initiated searches. On May 10, an Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued. Radar data from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and Park County Office of Homeland Security enabled search personnel to visually locate the airplane by helicopter in mountainous terrain within Shoshone National Forest.
FAA radar data from the QSI (Lovell, Wyoming) sensor showed a primary target departing Cody at 1141 on a track of 248 degrees true. The target began reporting Mode C altitude of 8,800 ft after passing Wapiti. Over the next 6 minutes, the target climbed to 9,900 ft, passed below Clayton Mountain, and continued toward the eastern face of Howell Mountain. The last recorded target was at 10,200 ft. The wreckage was found at elevation about 9,970 ft on the eastern flank of Howell Mountain, about 430 ft below its summit.
Personnel Information
Both occupants held current pilot licenses, and the airplane had dual controls; a definitive conclusion regarding who was pilot-in-command could not be made.
The pilot/owner, aged 84, held a private pilot certificate (1967) with single-engine land rating but no instrument rating. He held a third-class special issuance medical certificate (September 30, 2013, valid 1 year) for enlarged aortic root and aortic regurgitation, with a requirement for near vision glasses. His most recent medical application reported 4,550 total hours, 27 hours in the preceding 6 months. FAA records showed a 60-day suspension in 2009 for landing and crossing an active runway without radio contact.
The second occupant, aged 86, held a private pilot certificate (1952) with single-engine land rating but no instrument rating. He was found ineligible for a medical certificate in September 2013 due to coronary artery disease and sleep apnea, but was later issued a special issuance third-class medical certificate valid until September 30, 2014, with corrective lens requirement. He reported 625 total hours, 27 hours in the preceding 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane, manufactured in 1963, was purchased by the pilot/owner in 1991. The last annual inspection was completed on April 7, 2014, at 4,407 flight hours; tachometer time at the accident site was 4,448.5 hours. It was equipped with a King KX-170B Nav/Comm, a Garmin GNC-300XL GPS (placarded "GPS APPROVED FOR VFR FLIGHT ONLY"), and a factory-installed autopilot (impact damage prevented operational assessment). The King unit frequency was set to 114.80 MHz with course index 250 degrees, which did not match any en route navaids. An iPad used for navigation was crushed, preventing data extraction.
Meteorological Information
No weather briefing was requested using the airplane's registration number in the 3 days before the accident. A low pressure system over southwestern Wyoming with a warm front across southern Wyoming and a cold front in Montana placed the accident site in light northerly winds with mid-40s °F temperatures and temperature-dew point spreads of 4 °F. Light continuous rain was reported north of Cody.
Yellowstone Regional Airport AWOS at 1135: wind 360° at 12 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds 1,300 ft, broken 1,900 ft, overcast 3,100 ft, temperature 8°C, dew point 6°C, altimeter 29.75 inHg. At 1155: wind 360° at 11 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds 1,300 and 2,100 ft, overcast 3,300 ft, temperature 7°C, dew point 5°C, altimeter 29.77 inHg. The terminal forecast indicated marginal VFR with rain showers, and AIRMETs for mountain obscuration, turbulence, and icing. No SIGMETs were current, but a Center Weather Advisory for thunderstorms south of the site was issued. The airplane's altimeter was set to 29.75 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane was located 44 miles west of Cody, covered in snow that obscured parts of the cabin and left wing. The main wreckage rested upright on a 30-degree slope facing uphill; the right wing outboard section was separated and located about 80 ft left and uphill. The left wing was later found outboard of the main landing gear. Small debris fragments were observed in snow about 250 ft above the main wreckage. Occupants were removed about 3 weeks later after snow melted.
Medical and Pathological Information
Postmortem examination attributed both deaths to multiple blunt traumatic injuries. The pilot/owner had hypertensive cardiovascular disease; the pilot/pilot rated passenger had severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Toxicology tests for the pilot/owner found 10 mg/dL ethanol in urine but none in blood or muscle, and Losartan in urine and blood. For the other pilot, no ethanol was detected in vitreous; Atenolol was found in urine and blood.
Tests and Research
Due to snow and remote location, the on-site examination was conducted on July 16, 2014. The cabin was crushed from firewall to rear windows; tail cone buckled and twisted. The throttle, mixture, propeller, and carburetor heat controls were full forward. The right wing separated at the root with leading edge crush; the left wing separated at the wheel well. The engine sustained minimal damage and showed no catastrophic failure; propeller could be partially rotated smoothly. Examination of airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.