What happened
The pilot departed from Novato, California, intending to fly to Lakeport, California. Although weather conditions at the departure airport were marginally VFR, the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing or file a flight plan prior to takeoff. The pilot had access to a vehicle that could have been used for ground transportation but chose to fly instead.
Shortly after departure and again while nearing the destination, the pilot received in-flight weather information from the Ukiah Flight Service Station (FSS). The pilot acknowledged reports of bad weather in the vicinity of the route of flight. A witness near the accident site reported snow, strong winds, low ceilings, and worsening conditions at the time of the accident.
The aircraft collided with a shallow ridge in low mountainous terrain. The impact occurred while the aircraft was in an upright, slightly descending right wing down attitude. The elevation of the ground impact site was approximately 2450 feet. Cloud bases were reported at Ukiah as approximately 2600 feet MSL near the time of the accident.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the weather conditions and the pilot's decision-making process. No mechanical failures or pre-impact anomalies were identified that would have precluded normal operation of the aircraft.