Accident Summary
On a night flight from Port Angeles to Seattle, an aircraft impacted the western slope of rapidly rising terrain at an elevation of 1,780 feet above mean sea level. The general area is unpopulated and offers virtually no light sources for nighttime reference.
Weather Briefing
The pilots had obtained a weather briefing from Seattle Flight Service Station earlier in the day for the initial leg from Seattle to Port Angeles. However, due to the time elapsed between arrival and departure at Port Angeles, the briefing was no longer valid for the return flight.
Typical Flight Route
VFR traffic from Port Angeles to Seattle normally follows a routing that departs Port Angeles eastbound along the north coastal area of the Olympic Peninsula. The route then turns southeast near Discovery Bay and proceeds inland over relatively low terrain toward Seattle. Under favorable weather conditions, traffic also proceeds southeast at Sequim Bay, prior to reaching Discovery Bay.
Terrain and Weather Conditions
The terrain south of Sequim Bay climbs rapidly as the northeast corner of the Olympic Mountain Range is approached. An airline captain reported a scattered to broken cloud layer at 1,800 feet MSL and an overcast layer at 4,000 feet MSL in the vicinity. The accident site was on the west slope of rising terrain at 1,780 feet.