September 13, 2012, Strawberry, Ariz., Piper PA-28-181, Archer II/III

The airplane collided with wooded terrain within a canyon at about 1453 Mountain time. The student pilot, flight instructor and private pilot-rated passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was consumed by a post-impact fire. Visual conditions prevailed.

Editorial Staff

Friday, October 19, 2012 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An airplane crashed into wooded terrain within a canyon, resulting in fatal injuries for the student pilot, flight instructor, and a private pilot-rated passenger, with the aircraft consumed by a post-impact fire.
The student pilot was undergoing a phase check for the KLM Flight Academy during the flight, which occurred under visual conditions.
The wreckage was located hours after the expected return time within a steep canyon at approximately 5800 feet, with radar data indicating the aircraft climbed into the canyon before the crash.

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The student pilot was enrolled in the KLM Flight Academy flight training program and was undergoing a phase check. The airplane did not return at the expected time, and became the subject of an Alert Notice about 1800. The Civil Air Patrol, utilizing radar data and network-based cell phone signal analysis, located the wreckage at about 2100 on September 14.