Aircraft Impacts Mountain Pass Wall During VFR Flight (N9829X)

Flight Plan and Departure A pilot filed a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan for a flight to a remote strip, intending to travel eastbound via Whittier/Portage Pass. The aircraft departed and was in level flight when the accident occurred. ## Impact and Weather Conditions Approximately six minutes after takeoff, the aircraft impacted a vertical wall at the 700-foot level of the pass. The track of the aircraft indicated it was skirting the left side of the pass. The left wingtip struck the wall on a heading approximately 60 degrees left of the pass centerline. Weather observed at the time was 200 feet obscured with 1 and 1/2 mile visibility, with rain and fog. ## Preceding Advisories and Witnesses Flight service station briefings during the preceding six hours included advisories of instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) weather in the mountain passes, with Portage Pass closed. Witnesses located 700 feet below the site heard the impact but could not see it.