What happened
After departing the GustavUS ARPT, the pilot turned the aircraft toward Excursion Inlet and filed a VFR flight plan. Following the filing of the flight plan, there were no further radio transmissions from the aircraft.
A search for the aircraft was initiated; however, the operation was hampered by heavy fog, clouds, and darkness. The wreckage was located the following morning. The aircraft had crashed on steep rising terrain within a box canyon area. The impact occurred at the end of a valley that began near Excursion Inlet. The elevation of the crash site was approximately 4000 feet, in an area where the terrain rose to about 4600 feet.
At the time of the accident, two other pilots departing from Haines reported weather conditions consisting of a broken to overcast ceiling at approximately 4000 feet. While visibility below the clouds was reported to be about 20 miles, the mountain tops were obscured.
The investigation
During the examination of the wreckage, the propeller blades were found to have deep chordwise scars and damage to the leading edge and rotational surfaces.