Piper PA20 N1231C

Summary

On 27 June 2022 at about 01:45 local time, a Piper PA20 registered N1231C was involved in an accident near Challis, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 June 2022 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Challis, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Lower Loon Creek (C53)

Coordinates

44.8227, -114.8253

Aircraft

Piper PA20

Registration

N1231C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1953

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Challis → Yellow Pine

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR22LA238

2 people died.

The pilot's turn towards rising terrain with limited climb performance and his subsequent failure to maintain clearance from terrain that resulted in an impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness at the departure airport watched the accident airplane take off and fly into a box canyon. Shortly thereafter, the witness saw a dust cloud in the same area. A friend of the accident pilot reported that they were camping in the area and had flown to the departure airport earlier in the day. The friend reported that they waited until later in the day to fly back to their camping area due to density altitude considerations. He watched the accident airplane depart to the north and then turn back toward the airport. He then departed in his airplane and flew to the camp site destination, where he expected to meet up with the accident pilot and passenger. He reported them missing when they did not arrive at the camp site. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. The accident site was in a box canyon about 1 1/2 miles north of the airport at an elevation of 6,240 ft above mean sea level (msl). The change in elevation from the departure airport to the accident location was about 2,040 ft. As the airplane climbed, the calculated climb performance from the departure airport to the accident site location would have likely degraded from about 477 ft per minute (fpm) to about 360 fpm. The accident is consistent with the pilot turning toward rising terrain with limited climb performance that resulted in the pilot’s failure to maintain obstacle clearance and a subsequent impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.