What happened
A certificated private pilot departed on a local area flight intended for practicing touch-and-go landings near a 4,200-foot mountain. After the aircraft failed to return as expected, an aerial search was initiated.
On the day of the accident, a witness flying in another airplane reported seeing an aircraft crest the mountain top and descend downslope out of view, followed by a cloud of dust. Initial efforts by search personnel only yielded miscellaneous debris. Approximately four weeks later, a passing helicopter located the wreckage nestled within a grey and black colored rock outcropping near the summit of the mountain. The wreckage had been partially consumed by a postcrash fire.
The wreckage path was oriented on an easterly heading and was situated approximately 100 yards south of a small north/south oriented airstrip at the top of the mountain. At the time of the accident, winds reported 27 miles east in Anchorage were from 250 degrees at 4 knots.