What happened
Relatives of the pilot expected him to return home on the evening of October 4, 1983. When he failed to arrive, they reported the aircraft as overdue. The wreckage was located where it had collided with a mountain at an elevation of approximately 3,580 feet, situated about 10 miles north of the destination airport.
Evidence indicated that the aircraft had departed Big Bear, California, at approximately 17:15 PDT. About 15 miles west of the accident site, a witness observed an aircraft matching the description of N8146T. According to her account, the plane was over Interstate 5, heading toward Burbank, California. She believed the pilot was attempting to get over Newhall Pass and had circled three or four times before departing to the east.
The witness reported intermittent rain and a ceiling of about 1,000 feet. At approximately 18:30, an ATP pilot reported thunderstorm activity over the mountains. By 18:45, weather at Burbank showed 1,300-foot overcast skies with four miles visibility in haze. The elevation of the Burbank airport was about 3,000 feet lower than the accident site. No record of a preflight weather briefing was found. Impact occurred on 50-degree rising terrain.
The investigation
There were no known witnesses to the actual accident sequence. The investigation relied on witness accounts from before the impact and weather data from nearby locations. The absence of a recorded preflight weather briefing was noted as a significant gap in the operational record.
Findings
The pilot attempted to navigate through deteriorating weather conditions without adequate situational awareness or clearance. The decision to circle in marginal visual meteorological conditions contributed to the loss of control and subsequent collision with terrain.