Some more details: the pilot received his private certificate 6 months ago, so he was very inexperienced. He was working on his IR but didn't have it yet. He took the Colorado Pilots Mountain Flying course, in which it's emphasized not to fly at night through the mountains. He was also a member of COPA (Cirrus Owners & Pilots), and had reportedly taken some additional training through them.

None of that explains doing what he did. I have 2 theories:

  • That he lost control in IMC--and at night, that's really easy to do. A little turbulence might shut off the autopilot, and then he'd be unable to control it.
  • That he developed hypoxia, not being on oxygen when he flew high enough to clear the rocks, and then lost control.


Here's the sad part: if I was going to Moab in the dark, I'd have flown northwest to Laramie, then Medicine Bow, then Cherokee, then direct Moab. At Cirrus speeds, depending on the wind, that would have added between 40 and 50 minutes to any direct Fort Collins/Loveland to Moab flight. 40 or 50 minutes is nothing, compared to the risk.

Cary