Incident Overview
A pilot failed to arrive for his brother's college graduation, prompting concerned family members to report him and his airplane missing. The Civil Air Patrol subsequently located the airplane on top of Pine Mountain. According to the pilot's personal flight log, his intended destination was Pensacola, Florida, with intermediate fuel stops at Thomson, Georgia, and Greenville, Alabama.
Departure and Weather Conditions
Airport personnel at Thomson confirmed that the airplane landed at approximately 1630 on November 6, 1997. The pilot purchased 26.5 gallons of 100LL fuel and departed around 1700. Witnesses at the Thomson Airport stated that when he took off, the weather was marginal VFR and deteriorating rapidly.
Accident Site and Surrounding Weather
Witnesses near Pine Mountain reported that visibility at the time of the accident was about 1/4 mile in haze/fog. Approximately 15 miles south of the accident site at Columbus, Georgia, the weather was: 400 feet broken, 1200 feet overcast, visibility 4 miles with haze. Elevation at Columbus was 394 feet; elevation of the accident site was 1190 feet, with 100- to 150-foot trees covering the mountain. The airplane impacted trees about 50 feet above the ground. The estimated time of the accident was 1845, at about the time darkness was falling.