Incident Overview
An aircraft inbound to Fairchild International Airport (CLM) at Port Angeles, Washington, was handed off to Whidbey Island Approach Control at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station (NUW), located 35 nautical miles northeast of the destination. The airport at Port Angeles had no operating control tower. The pilot was given the weather at NUW, which was estimated as 400 scattered, 2600 overcast, visibility 6 miles with fog.
Sequence of Events
The flight was vectored toward CLM and cleared to descend to the minimum vectoring altitude of 1000 feet MSL over the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The pilot reported the airport beacon in sight and canceled his IFR clearance. The aircraft was observed to fly over the airport at low altitude on a southwest heading. The Unicom operator asked the pilot for a ceiling report, but the pilot replied that he was unable to determine the ceiling due to fog.
Accident
Subsequently, the aircraft crashed on rising terrain approximately 2 miles south-southwest of the airport while in a level turn at an elevation of 1300 feet. The airport elevation at CLM is 290 feet.
Weather Information
The 0505 Pacific Daylight Time weather observation at CLM was estimated as 500 feet broken, 4000 feet overcast, visibility 6 miles with fog. The controller reported that on initial contact with the flight, the 0505 weather for CLM was not yet available on his weather vision screen.