N34903

On June 12, 2024, about 1006 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 177B, N34903, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Elk River, Idaho. The pilot was fatally injured, and the two passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to preliminary ADS-B data, the airplane departed Felts Field Airport (SFF), Spokane, Washington and flew southeast toward Elk River Airport (ID85), Elk River, Idaho. As the airplane approached ID85, it overflew the community of Elk River, south of the approach end of runway 17, then made a turn to the northwest. The flight track data ended about 1 mile north of ID85.

According to a surviving passenger who is also pilot rated, the pilot had planned to fly the airplane from SFF to ID85, and then return to SFF. After departure from SFF, he requested and received flight following from Air Traffic Control (ATC), which was maintained until he had ID85 in sight. The pilot and passenger discussed a plan to approach ID85 from the south to inspect the runway, climb to the north, followed by a turn to return for a landing on runway 17. The passenger estimated that the airplane overflew the airport at about 700 ft above ground level (agl) and reported that the airplane was configured with full throttle and the flaps retracted. While climbing to the north, the pilot stated, “it’s just not climbing; I don’t like this” and verified that the airplane’s engine power was set to full. He slowed the airplane, attempting to increase its rate of climb and the passenger recalled that they did not have room to turn around before the airplane impacted trees. A post-crash fire ensued.

Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted trees and came to rest inverted, at an elevation of about 3,755 ft mean sea level (MSL) about 5.5 miles north of ID85 in mountainous terrain. The first identified point of contact was a 120 ft tall tree located 114 ft west of the main wreckage. The debris path was about 103 ft long and oriented on a magnetic heading of 086°. The fuselage was oriented on a magnetic heading of 153°, across a downed tree, on a 45° slope. All major components of the airplane were located throughout the debris path.

Figure 1: View of the accident site and main wreckage.

Figure 2: Wreckage diagram.

The wreckage was recovered to a secure facility for further examination.