Incident Overview
An aircraft operating on a night flight impacted the northwest side of a ridge. The aircraft was in a level attitude at cruise speed and flying on a southeast heading at the time of the collision. The accident occurred under dark night conditions, with the cloud ceiling reported to be approximately 40 feet above the ridge.
Flight Conditions
The pilot received a weather briefing before departure and another while en route, both of which reported a ceiling of 10,000 feet at the destination. During the en route portion of the flight, the aircraft was flown at an altitude of 17,500 feet.
Pilot Communications
The pilot-in-command (PIC) radioed Greenville Spartanburg (GSP) Approach Control and stated that he was operating under visual flight rules (VFR) for landing and was passing through 6,000 feet. Two-way communication was not established; however, a discrete transponder code was assigned by the controller.
Radar Tracking
The controller observed the aircraft's transponder code change northwest of the accident site. Shortly thereafter, the radar target disappeared at the location where the aircraft struck the ridge.