The Unseen: Dark of Night Is No Time to Improvise

NTSB investigation reveals spatial disorientation, but the full story offers deeper insights into a tragic accident.

Peter Garrison

Wednesday, October 08, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

In daylight, the pilot would probably not have started the turn so early and so close to the ground...in pitch darkness, he had no idea where the ground was. [Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

A Cherokee 140 crashed shortly after a dark night takeoff from Canyonlands Regional Airport, killing the pilot and his family.
The NTSB determined the primary cause was the pilot's loss of visual reference, leading to spatial disorientation.
Contributing factors included the dark conditions without activated runway lights, high density altitude, and the pilot's early, steep turn that arrested the climb and resulted in striking unseen terrain.

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Moab, utah lies nestled in a bend in the Colorado River, a green dot in a Martian landscape of ochre plains and low rocky outcrops that resemble the protruding vertebrae of buried monsters.

Sixteen miles northwest of Moab is Canyonlands Regional Airport (KCYN). Its runway, 100 feet wide and 7,360 feet long, is oriented 03/21. All of the airport’s buildings are at its north end, alongside the highway that leads to Moab.