Piper PA 18-150 accident near Yellow Pine, Idaho, June 21, 2018

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The private pilot was conducting a personal, cross-country flight as part of a flight of three. One of the pilots reported that, as the flight of three approached the one-way-in, 700-ft-long remote mountain airstrip, the lead pilot surveyed the area, and he reported that no other airplanes were in the area. Subsequently, he and the lead pilot landed at the airstrip uneventfully. After landing, he parked his airplane at the top of the airstrip facing directly down the runway, which allowed him to easily see the approach path to the airstrip. As he was waiting for the accident airplane to come into view, he asked the accident pilot “…you’ve been in here before, right”? The accident pilot replied that he had not, and the other pilot then reminded the accident pilot to fly “low over the creek.” He added that, when the accident airplane came into view, it was higher than the lead airplane had been on its approach. When the accident airplane had almost reached the extended runway centerline, the accident pilot added power, after which, the airplane pitched up steeply. The airplane then continued upstream of a nearby creek for about 1/2 mile with the nose up and “not climbing well, if at all.” The airplane then entered a left turn, followed by the left-wing dipping and the airplane entering a left spin. The pilot stated that he saw the airplane make 1 1/4 rotations before it descended out of his sight and impacted terrain and that the engine sounded like it was developing full power from the time of the initial go-around until impact. The pilot’s brother and one of the pilots who witnessed the accident reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot does not recall the events leading to the accident. Therefore, based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed and exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the go-around, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin at too low of an altitude to recover. The accident flight was the accident pilot’s first attempt to land at the airstrip, which is confined by mountainous terrain and requires pilots to land one way and depart the other with virtually no go-around options during the approach. A plan view of the airstrip recommended that it “be used only by mountain proficient pilots who have had a checkout specific to the airstrip.” In an Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association video made after the accident pilot recovered from his injuries, he stated that he was negligent in planning for the flight, which included not having obtained a briefing on the airstrip. The pilot also mentioned his lack of proficiency at the time of the accident. Therefore, contributing to the accident were the pilot’s failure to obtain a briefing on the airstrip, lack of planning for the flight, and unfamiliarity with the airstrip.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.