At about 1146 Mountain time, the airplane was destroyed when it collided with terrain during an emergency approach and landing. The solo Private pilot sustained fatal injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. At 1740:14 the pilot advised ATC he had “a very rough running engine trying to decide what to do here.” Approximately three minutes later, the pilot advised ATC he had smoke in the cockpit. Multiple witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying northwest through a canyon at a low altitude and trailing smoke. The airplane impacted terrain while in a steep left-hand turn near the northwest end of a large open pasture.
