Interactions with low-flying aircraft in western river canyons.

As you may have seen reported in the news, a small aircraft crashed alongside the Ruby-Horsethief section of the Colorado River, near the Colorado/Utah state line, on July 31, 2018.  American Whitewater has received numerous reports over the past several months of aircraft flying dangerously low along the river, in some case skimming their wheels across the surface.  Fortunately, the pilot of the accident aircraft was rescued by nearby rafters and not seriously injured.  However, the crash is a sobering example of how dangerous this sort of flying can be for pilots and other river users.

American Whitewater is looking for members that may have observed this (or other) aircraft, flying close to the river, surrounding terrain, or people on the river, so that we can share our members’ experience with the Federal Aviation Administration and Bureau of Land Management.