Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Plane Missing Over Yosemite National Park

Report from the Fresno Bee.

"Cobb said Wilson's plane went off the park's radar around 12:30 p.m. Monday near North Dome, just off Tioga Road. Because the area isn't accessible by foot or vehicle, Cobb said the only way to search is by air. Search efforts started Tuesday morning but were unsuccessful because of snowy, cloudy weather, Cobb said."

Also from the Sierra Star.

Flying a Mooney. Wow. That's like what, the Jaguar or maybe Harley of US aircraft, some incredible planes but tortuous company history. The kind of plane that could survive a forced landing (monster airframe, retractable gear) if he found a meadow up there: let's hope so.

Latest Mooneys have some really cool Garmin avionics and 1500 -2000 mi range, so being so far off a direct course to Mammoth may not have been an issue. This one is going to be interesting.

Hoping for the best.

Mooney '20s are a neat & fast aircraft, even if they stuck the tail on backwards.



Yes, hoping for a good outcome, too.

If he was flying a Victor route (low altitude, as opposed to a high altitude jetway) from Santa Barbara(SBA), it should have brought him over Mammoth Pass, which is a safer route into MMH. The Tioga area is about 20 miles north of Mammoth Pass. Lost or sight seeing? We'll never know. As you can see from the aero chart below (recommended Victor route), this is a nearly impossible area for a safe forced landing.

http://wh94.fltplan.com/airway_viewer/?U...PECHART=LOCHART

Who knows? He had plenty of range (1500 mi) and ceiling (18800) to have been sightseeing very safely. Not much flat around North Dome, for sure, but Tuolomne, maybe?

I've noticed on many a trip inbound to SFO from Boston and other points east, the descent path is just about over North Dome. Sitting on the left side of the plane, I have many times had a spectacular view of HD, the Valley, Glacier Point etc from what I would judge to be about 20,000 ft. Maybe higher, definitely lower than cruising altitude, in any event. Its an amazing view. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this pilot was taking in the same view from 15000 or so, just after noon on a nice day.

He should have been flying above 12,000', assuming Tioga Pass is the highest point on the route.

Discussion here.

"FAA Advisory Circular AC91-36 defines the surface of a National Park area as: the highest terrain within 2,000 feet laterally of the route of flight, or the upper-most rim of a canyon or valley. Simply stated, find the highest ground on your flight path and add 2,000 feet to your cruising altitude."

The normal approach to Mammoth-Yosemite airport is from the south-east, landing on runway 27 (facing 270 degrees) in order to avoid high terrain near the airport. There are two recommended entries to final approach: 1) Direct from the Owens Valley, or 2) from the north, passing Mono Lake, a right turn to the south, and then a right turn to the north-west onto final in the Crowley Lake area. As you can see from the MMH approach chart below, it can be like threading a needle. There is only one safe way in and one safe way out.

It's possible he was trying for option 2, but had a problem over Yosemite (icing, engine, health issue, etc.)
The snow is getting deeper each day in the high country; finding wreckage will be difficult until next summer.

http://www.fltplan.com/AwDisplayAppChart...&WINDOW=YES

wonder if any factors like in the crash that killed Galen Rowell and wife Barbara?

Wasn't the pilot not licensed for night flying and only had 52 hours in type? Wonder if he ever had his shirt ripped?

Of course there may been non-pilot factors in either of these events. You guys know?

Ahhh, negative on that. Galen and Barbara Rowel were killed in a crash on final approach to Bishop airport. The pilot of the aircraft and his wife were with them at the time. It was a night landing, and the aircraft stalled and impacted the ground while on base leg to final...before reaching the runway threshold; probably pilot error. No survivors.

Landing Pattern -> Low & Slow = no recovery time for a stall.

The fact that one is not actutely aware of the horizon when night flying creates a lesser awareness when the "angle of attack" exceeds operating perameters (the nose of the plane is so high that the angle impedes on the airflow over the wings) Add to this the conditions that exist within a Landing Pattern (see above)and a lack of experience with night flying (the pilot had astonishingly low night flying experience) It is very easy to allow the nose of the plane to creep up as a means to slow the plane down (constant speed adjustments are made whilst in a landing pattern) when dealing with the stress of a landing -- again,most especially at night.

Search has been suspended.

"She said searchers will look for the aircraft again in the spring when weather and park conditions are more favorable."

I am not sure if this was partly responsible for the crash, but on that night there were large fires raging in the Sierra. I believe the Owens valley was full of smoke. I was driving down from Horseshoe Meadows that night (completing a vehicle shuttle after backpack) and it was difficult to see the road. I will never forget hearing the news of the crash (Galen and Barbara Rowel) as we descended into the valley.

An update.

"A search for a missing Solvang pilot whose single-engine airplane apparently crashed near Yosemite National Park's Half Dome will be resumed in June, park officials said."

The plane has been found.

"On Saturday, a park visitor near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp discovered the plane.

On Sunday, Cobb said park rangers hiked to the area, where they found the plane intact and Wilson's body."