I think the airplane went much further up than Ingram Falls, and onto the flat basin above the falls. It has no way out other than a 180 turn. I tried it on Flight Sim, and I was barely able to do the 180 in a C172 without scraping the rocks. See screenshots. Its quite bizarre why he chose to fly into such a corner.
Hadn’t thought about using the new MSFS as an accident re-creation tool, but it makes sense.
My mountain flying habits and self-preservation anxiety is banging every alarm just looking at those screenshots.
You just... can’t do that. That canyon is way too narrow to be where that aircraft is.
Ugh. But thanks too. That’s impressive. Older sims just don’t have the visuals to trigger those “don’t do that!” feelings in me.
Those screenshots give me the heebie-jeebies sitting here safely at home in a chair.
Read elsewhere that a friend of theirs took them for a drive way in the backcountry nearby and they climbed a mountain together.
Makes me wonder a couple of things...
Whether the fatal flight was attempting to see the same area from the air...
And maybe more importantly, that was as I understand it, one of four days at that altitude with the mountain climb on, I think, day three?
I kinda wonder about mild hypoxia for true flatlanders considering they were from Florida. Impaired judgement / euphoria.
We’ve had friends from similarly low coastal places visit and taken them for mountain drives to similarly high and higher altitudes. Not a one makes it back to our house without falling asleep on the way down. They’re mildly O2 deprived the entire day. It affects them.
Not as common but a handful have experienced headaches and early signs of altitude sickness. Plenty of water and rest and all have recovered within a few hours.
Also bums me out that the guy was really well known, respected as a pilot and instructor by so many, and while it sounds maybe a bit callous, around here when we hear a really young low-timer smacks a mountain with zero mountain training — we just kinda chalk it up to “aww man, another one”. When it’s a high timer who teaches, it just feels worse.
Same root problem, but seems a bit more sad and senseless.
There’s no reason to be scared of flying up there. But please let a local CFI show ya some techniques to make that true.
I just want those screenshots a bit higher and hugging or right over the top of either side’s ridge line... just enough room to turn into the valley and point the nose down significantly at the same time. The classic canyon “out”. You have to leave yourself one, or don’t go in there.
So frustrating. Just want to yell NO! at my screen in those first screenshots. The rest are just the foregone conclusion of the decision in the first ones.
Bahhh. Those brought it right home for me. Sitting in the right seat that would be, “You need to turn out NOW. This is not going to work.”
I’m actually up pacing in my house now typing this.
Very sorry for the loss to all who knew them. Even my very first instructor was an acquaintance.
