What happened
The flight was handed off to approach control at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, located approximately 35 miles northeast of the destination, Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles. The airport did not have an operating control tower. The pilot received weather information from Whidbey Island, which indicated a ceiling of 400 feet scattered, estimated 2,600 feet overcast, with six miles visibility and fog.
The flight was vectored toward Fairchild International Airport and cleared to descend to the minimum vectoring altitude of 1,000 feet mean sea level over the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The pilot reported seeing the airport beacon and cancelled his instrument flight rules clearance. The aircraft was observed flying over the airport at low altitude on a southwest heading.
A UNICOM operator asked the pilot for a ceiling report, but he replied that he was unable to determine the ceiling due to fog. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed into rising terrain about two miles southwest of the airport while in a level turn at an elevation of 1,300 feet. The weather at the time of the accident was estimated to be 500 feet broken, 4,000 feet overcast, with six miles visibility and fog.
The air traffic controller reported that upon initial contact with the flight, the weather for Fairchild International Airport was not yet available on his weather vision screen. The airport elevation was 290 feet.