Windy Canyon Dangers

Canyons draw adventurous pilots in—but they hold hidden hazards.

Peter Garrison

Monday, March 13, 2023 at 06:32 PM ET

Verified

Flying through canyons has seemed to be a supreme test of airmanship. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

A highly experienced 70-year-old flight leader died when his RV-4 aircraft struck a canyon wall during a high-speed S-turn practice flight in southern Colorado.
The accident occurred during a challenging canyon flying exercise that, while exhilarating, demands precise maneuvering at high speeds with little margin for error.
A key contributing factor was likely an unpredictable strong crosswind inside the canyon, which carried the aircraft into the wall during a critical turn, despite the pilot's attempted correction.
The incident highlights the inherent dangers and extreme nature of certain aviation activities, where even highly skilled pilots can make fatal miscalculations, especially when confronting invisible environmental variables.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Ever since Luke Skywalker plunged into the mesial groove of the Death Star, flying through canyons has seemed to be a supreme test of airmanship. Military pilots practicing terrain following love to thread the so-called “Star Wars Canyon” into Death Valley at 500 knots. When the new Top Gun installment came out, it was all about negotiating canyons, both geological and interpersonal.

It’s fun, and it’s dangerous. In fact, it’s fun because it’s dangerous.