NTSB Identification: WPR12LA231
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, May 26, 2012 in Silver City, ID
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/05/2013
Aircraft: CESSNA 172G, registration: N4640L
Injuries: 3 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot stated that he was maneuvering over mountainous terrain in deteriorating weather conditions and reduced visibility when the airplane stalled. He pushed the nose down to recover from the aerodynamic stall and then abruptly pitched the nose up to avoid oncoming rising terrain. The airplane subsequently impacted trees and settled to the ground. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot‘s failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering in mountainous terrain with reduced visibility, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
On May 26, 2012, about 2150 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172G, N4640L, collided with mountainous terrain while maneuvering about five miles southeast of Silver City, Idaho. The private pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings and flight control surfaces. The airplane was registered to the pilot, and operated as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed and dusk light prevailed. No flight plan was filed for the cross-county flight. The flight originated from Rome, Oregon (REO), about 1930. The pilot’s intended destination was Mountain Home, Idaho (U76).
The pilot reported that the accident flight was the third flight leg of the day. Earlier in the day he flew with his passengers from Lodi, California, to Susanville, California. About 1400 the pilot departed Susanville with a planned destination of Mountain Home, Idaho. About 1 hour after departing Susanville, the pilot “turned back” due to deteriorating weather conditions and diverted to Rome, Oregon. The pilot landed in Rome uneventfully. Initially, the pilot and passengers planned to overnight in Rome; however, weather conditions improved and the pilot again departed for Mountain Home.
As the flight progressed over mountainous terrain (Owyhee Mountains) weather conditions deteriorated and the pilot encountered reduced flight visibility, broken clouds and precipitation; a passenger reported the flight visibility dropped to “zero.” While maneuvering over a ridgeline and nearby weather, the pilot stated the airplane "stalled." He pushed the nose down to “break” the aerodynamic stall and then pitched up abruptly to match approaching rising terrain. The airplane subsequently impacted trees and settled to the ground.
Initial rescue efforts were delayed due to snow showers and poor visibility. On May 28, search and rescue personnel reached the accident site and airlifted the pilot and passengers to a regional medical facility in Boise, Idaho.
The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
This photo provided by the Owyhee County Sheriff's office shows the site where a small plane crashed in rugged terrain in a remote area in Owyhee County in southwest Idaho on Sunday, May 27, 2012. An Army National Guard helicopter on Sunday plucked a husband and wife and their adult daughter from the plane and each was transferred to a medical helicopter and flown to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise where they were listed in stable condition.
(AP Photo/Owyhee County Sheriff's office, Chief Deputy Kenny Hoagland)
The first person came out about noon and the last at about 2 p.m., and each was transferred to a medical helicopter and flown to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise where they were listed in stable condition.
It's unclear what caused the Cessna to go down. Photos taken by rescuers showed significant damage, including a broken front windshield.
Authorities identified them as Brian Brown of Wilton, Calif., his wife Jayann Brown, and their daughter. Her name was not immediately available.
Brian Brown is a captain at the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department in Elk Grove, Calif. He is also Deputy Chief of Operation and Training with the nearby volunteer Wilton Fire Protection District.
Wilton Fire Chief Tom Dark said the couple was flying with their youngest daughter to Mountain Home to visit their oldest daughter. He was relieved they were in stable condition.
"That was our first concern, how he and the family were doing," said Dark. "Knowing what a good pilot he is, something had to have happened."
Dark said it was probably an unusual experience for Brown, a firefighter for more than two decades, to be on the other end of a rescue.
"When the shoe is on the other foot it's kind of strange," he said.
The Idaho Transportation Department said the 1966 Cessna 172 took off from Sacramento, Calif. and was en route to Mountain Home, Idaho. Crandall said the plane crashed on a cliff at about 12:08 a.m. Sunday, approximately one to two miles southeast of Silver City.
After the plane crashed, one of the three passengers on-board used a cell phone to call 911, and reached the Owyhee County Sheriff's Office early Sunday morning. Air ambulances searched early Sunday, but had difficulty seeing the terrain, as it was still dark. Crandall said he tried to send in ground crews, but they had to turn back because of blizzard-like conditions.
The Owyhee County Posse, Air St. Luke's, Life Flight, Nampa Fire and Rescue, Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue and the Idaho Army National Guard all participated in the search and rescue effort.
Responding personnel encountered 5' to 6’ snow drifts in very challenging terrain, including slopes of approximately 60 degrees of incline. Once responders reached the survivors, they wrapped them in blankets and built a fire while they awaited airlift from the site.
The Idaho Army National Guard UH-72 used its hoist to recover all three survivors, one at a time. By early Sunday afternoon, all three had been safely transported to Saint Alphonsus. They were listed in stable condition.
Authorities identified the three as Brian Brown of Wilton, Calif., his wife Jayann Brown, and their daughter, Heather. The passenger who used the cell phone to call 911 said one of them had minor head and laceration injuries and the two others suffered back and neck injuries.
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