History of Flight
On September 2, 2017, about 1030 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built GlaStar GS-1, N65EW, was destroyed when it struck terrain while maneuvering above a wilderness area about 15 miles east-southeast of Cascade, Idaho. The private pilot was seriously injured, and the pilot-rated passenger received fatal injuries. The flight was conducted under Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions; no flight plan was filed. The aircraft had departed High Valley Swanson Airport (ID35) at an unknown time and was destined for Sulfur Creek Ranch Airport (ID74), both in Cascade, Idaho.
The aircraft had been sold about two weeks earlier by a seller based at Nampa Municipal Airport (MAN) to a buyer in Georgia. Several days before the accident, the buyer arranged for a pilot friend to collect the aircraft and fly it to Georgia. The day before the accident, the pilot met the seller at MAN to complete the transfer. The seller offered to fly with the pilot from the left seat or to provide a flight instructor; the pilot chose the instructor. After about one hour of instruction, the ownership transfer was completed. The pilot told the seller he planned to depart for Georgia the following morning.
Instead, the pilot flew from MAN to ID35, where he met his cousin, also a pilot, and remained overnight. The next morning, the two departed for ID74. En route, the pilot entered a canyon. He later stated that he saw the canyon walls rising to the ridge-line ahead and judged there was enough distance to climb over. When he realized the aircraft could not outclimb the terrain, he initiated a right turn to reverse course. During the turn, the aircraft stalled and struck the ground.
The pilot used his mobile telephone to notify authorities of the accident and fatality. About three hours later, a US Forest Service helicopter provided assistance, and about an hour after that, first responders were lowered to prepare the pilot for aerial extraction. A helicopter pilot who recovered the pilot noted that smoke from a nearby forest fire reduced visibility but was not an impediment.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued in February 2017, and he reported 998 total flight hours. According to the seller, the pilot stated he had no backcountry flight experience but hoped to move to Idaho and gain such experience.
The pilot-rated passenger held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings, issued in May 2003. His most recent FAA third-class medical was issued in August 2001. No details of his flight experience or mountain flying training were obtained.
Aircraft Information
The GlaStar GS-1 was manufactured in 1998. Its empty weight was 1,331 lbs. The seller, the third owner, had purchased it in November 2016. The normally-aspirated Lycoming O-320 engine had accumulated about 40 hours since a partial overhaul a few months after the seller's purchase. The seller stated the maximum gross weight was about 1,990 lbs and total fuel capacity was 50 gallons. The aircraft was fueled with 38.9 gallons the evening before the accident.
Wreckage and Impact
The aircraft came to rest on an upsloping, rocky clearing in a forested area on the sidewall of a canyon, about 14 miles west-southwest of ID74 at an elevation of about 7,500 ft msl. Damage to several trees indicated they were struck just before ground impact. There was no fire. The wreckage was tightly contained; the horizontal stabilizer/elevator and propeller separated and were found nearby. The cockpit was partially crushed and torn open. The pre-impact flap position could not be determined; the left flap was found nearly fully retracted, and the right flap near fully extended. The left wing was canted forward about 80°, the right wing canted aft a similar amount, consistent with impact during a spin in the airplane nose right direction. The wreckage was not recovered.
Additional Information
No radar tracking data were available. The pilot reported using an iPad with Foreflight as his navigation tool; he did not enter a planned route or use paper charts. He stated he entered the canyon with both sides below him and the canyon walls rising to the ridge-line. He indicated he had used two notches of flaps during the turn. The kit manufacturer's Owner's Manual did not include a performance section; it listed best angle of climb speed as 75 mph and best rate of climb as 90 mph. The pilot did not report the speed used. He stated he was unfamiliar with the aircraft's climb performance and overestimated its capability.
The pilot expressed concern about cylinder head temperatures above 415°F, but the previous owner indicated the engine builder considered that normal. The accident weight was estimated at 1,800 lbs. Stall speeds from the manual were 49 mph with full flaps and 56 mph with zero flaps; at the estimated weight, stall speeds would be about 2 mph lower. In a 60° bank, stall speed would increase about 20 mph. The pilot did not report the bank angle or speed during the turn.
In a recommendation on an NTSB form, the pilot wrote that one should enter a box canyon at an altitude above the canyon walls and that mountain flying instruction could have helped prevent the accident.