Leaked FAA memo sheds light on Superstition Mountains plane crash (AZ)

Fox10 ^ | 5/9/12

[hope]

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. - The night before thanksgiving, while most families were preparing to spend the holiday together, a plane crashed into the Superstition Mountains in the east valley. All on board were killed, including these 3 young children and their father.

The official cause of the crash won't be known for months, but tonight we have new troubling information that raises the question -- did this have to happen? Did they have to die?

We've learned FAA safety investigators believe the air space around the Superstition Mountains may have contributed to this deadly crash.

A problem they have known about for years.

The FAA's findings have never been made public until now. Something else that's never been made public until now -- haunting images of those kids just before their flight.

[hope]

This could have been a different situation had a simple change in flight plans from the FAA to give pilots more options when flying over this area, and perhaps without denial of service to private pilots from air traffic controllers this may have not happened. Complete tradgedy.

[occamrzr06]

I say we regulate, defund and ban the air space around the Superstition Mountains

Maybe create a Superstition Mountain Czar.

[dayglored]

That's just so sad. And unnecessary. Geez.

Part of me wants to say "criminal" though I know it's not... but still...

[Carthego delenda est]

Agree

[USNBandit]

I wonder how hard it is for GA to get IFR services out of that airport?

It would seem that if you didn't have terrain on one of your systems, and weren't super familiar with the area, flying night VFR wouldn't be prudent.

I have plenty of night VFR flying experience in low and high populated areas, but haven't flown in the Phoenix area. From flying in the LA basin I can understand the desire to just remain VFR. A lot of the SoCal approach controllers can be complete tools.

[pterional]

Mountain flying is dangerous enough but flying at night VFR and trying to slip between the bottom of the airspace and the mountain tops is stupidity. Bottom line they should have filed an IFR flight plan. I have walked around and up the siphon at the Superstition mountain park 20 years ago and there were quite a bit of aluminum parts up there from other accidents.

There area outside the valley is so dangerous that The FBOs in Phoenix would not rent planes and allow people to take them out of the valley and into mountainous terrain.

[donna]

Crash site: