The cause of the deadly Turbo Commander crash in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains last Wednesday night won’t be known for some time, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to glean some lessons from this tragedy.
As any pilot who has flown in the airspace near Phoenix (or any city surrounded by mountains) knows, seeing the inky blackness of terrain at night is next to impossible. Proper preflight planning, including studying charts and developing a plan of action, is a must. Still, at some point during a night flight over foreboding terrain, you might start to experience some doubt about whether you’ll clear an unseen mountain or ridgeline.
