At the August 3 session of the Saturday coffee and wings seminar, attendees analyzed a 2022 fatal accident in Cassia County, Idaho when a pilot emerged from IFR conditions only to strike a potato plant tower that was spewing snowflakes into her path.
"Maybe there was pressure from the boss to leave early today," analyst Kyle Lewis said about the corporate flighty. "Always take a step back and say 'is this worth it?' and try to mitigate that."
The pilot had earlier made an approach too fast. On her second try she was about 20 knots slower. Almost as soon as she dropped out of the clouds, she ran into the plume from the smokestack.
The crash killed Chelsea Brittney Infanger, a 30 year old pilot with ratings including commercial, instrument, multiengine, CFI, CFII, MEI, tailwheel, and seaplane.
The Saturday open house at the EAA Chapter 54 house provides important safety information as well as free coffee and doughnuts and the opportunity for hangar talk.
Those who attend at least 50 minutes of the presentation are awarded Wings credit. Find the date and topic of the next session here.