NTSB Factual Report

On June 28, 2018, about 1054 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 320D, airplane, N320MF, collided with mountainous terrain about 9 miles southeast of Fairfield, Utah. The air transport pilot was the sole person on board and was fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered and operated by GV Air, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a cross-country aerial photography flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed along the route of flight and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Caldwell Industrial Airport (EUL), Caldwell, Idaho at 0905 and had a destination of PVU.

According to the operator, the airplane was scheduled to perform aerial photography in an area west of Lake Mountain at a planned altitude of 7,255 feet (GPS altitude).

Preliminary radar data revealed a primary target, consistent with the accident airplane, at an altitude of 7,325 ft mean sea level (msl) traveling east then south, along the west side of Lake Mountain. The target then made a wide right 270-degree oval shaped turn to the east at an airspeed between 169 to 194 knots and an altitude of 7,325 ft. As it reached the foothills of Lake Mountain, the target turned southeast, and the airspeed decreased to 152 knots. The last radar return was about a 1/4 mile from the accident site at an altitude of 7,375 ft msl.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Alert Notification (ALNOT) for the airplane. Search and rescue efforts followed, and on June 29, 2018, wreckage was located on the east face of Lake Mountain.

Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted terrain at an elevation of 6,560ft. The wreckage debris field was contained to within 500 ft of the main wreckage. The wreckage was recovered to a secure facility for further examination.