Incident Overview
During an en route flight, the center seat passenger unfastened his seat belt and crawled forward between the two front seats. As the flight approached Quinhagak, the pilot encountered difficulty in persuading the passenger to return to his seat.
Sequence of Events
After finally getting the passenger settled, the pilot turned around and realized the aircraft had entered a cloud layer. The lights of the village were no longer visible. While descending through the cloud layer in an attempt to pick up the city lights, the aircraft flew into the ground and flipped over.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined that the pilot's loss of visual reference while managing a passenger distraction led to an inadvertent descent into terrain. The report noted the passenger's unauthorized movement and the pilot's difficulty in restoring order before losing sight of the ground.