What happened
The pilot and passengers were conducting a flight from California to Pennsylvania, which included scheduled refueling stops at Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and Omaha, Nebraska. At approximately 10:30 MDT, the pilot placed a telephone call to his daughter in Omaha to communicate that the aircraft would be arriving in the early afternoon.
When the flight failed to arrive in Omaha as expected, relatives reported the aircraft as overdue. Following this report, the wreckage was located within a box canyon at an elevation of approximately 12,000 feet. The canyon where the debris was found terminates at Mount Eureka, which has an elevation of 13,931 feet. At the time of the accident, weather conditions in the area were reported as clear with 50 miles of visibility.
The investigation
A post-crash examination of the aircraft and its engines was conducted. This inspection revealed evidence of normal operation for both the airframe and the powerplants.