DEN05CA015

Factual narrative

On October 25, 2004, at approximately 1335 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 310I, N8175M, piloted by a commercial pilot, impacted Point of the Mountain approximately 3 nautical miles south of Draper, Utah. Marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries. The cross-country flight originated in Boise, Idaho, at approximately 1130 and was en route to Spanish Fork (U77), Utah, for a fuel stop. According to the accident report submitted by the pilot, he was navigating with a global positioning system (GPS) unit to U77. Approximately 22 miles from U77, he "encountered rising terrain and pitched the aircraft up." The pilot stated that he saw Point of the Mountain ahead of his flight course but "was too close to reverse course." The pilot stated that he "aligned the aircraft with the slope of the terrain and heard the stall warning" prior to impacting terrain. The airplane came to rest inverted. The outboard wing tip tanks separated from both wings and both wings were crushed aft longitudinally and wrinkled. According to the aviation routine weather report (METAR) at Provo taken at 1315, the weather was "winds 350 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 3 statute miles, sky condition scattered at 1,600 feet agl, broken at 2,300 feet agl, overcast at 2,800 feet agl, temperature 4 degrees Celsius (C), dewpoint 2 degrees C, altimeter 29,89 inches. According to the pilot, he "encountered rising terrain and pitched the aircraft up." The pilot stated that he saw terrain ahead of his flight path but "was too close to reverse course." The pilot stated that he "aligned the aircraft with the slope of the terrain and heard the stall warning" prior to impacting terrain. The airplane came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12