Fatal superstition mountains aircraft crash with the pilot error, said report, according to the report

Two people died after a small plane near Apache Junction had crashed in 2023, and in a recently published report it is presented what the federal investigators went wrong.

An April report by the National Transportation Safety Board says that the pilot flew too low near the superstition on a caregiver. The plane hit the area after the pilot – which flew in formation – had to deal with deep perception due to heavy shadows.

“The pilot's controlled flight into the mountain area due to a reduced depth perception due to the shadow effect from the position of the sun,” says the report.

The report states that both the pilot and his passenger died when the plane hit a steep mountain range 200 to 400 feet under a ridge line. The debris were scattered without fire or explosion.

The 46-year-old pilot had 575 flight hours with 250 in the accident aircraft model, but no documented experience in the mountain range.

The flight was on the way to Payson with the other two aircraft who safely returned to Mesa. The NTSB accused poor judgment and environmental factors for the crash.

National transport security authority

Several witnesses saw the aircraft flying low, the report says. One of the pilots said that the crashed plane had passed him, whereby the nose rose up and down before the impact.

All three pilots decided to fly deep over mountainous terrain, the report says. The crashed aircraft was fully loaded with fuel, luggage and two occupants, which might have affected the performance.