Incident Overview
A private pilot without instrument rating and a passenger departed Buckeye, Arizona, bound for Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in. They made an intermediate stop at Alamosa, Colorado, where the aircraft was refueled. According to the lineman who serviced the airplane, the passenger showed apprehension and expressed concern about the weather conditions. The lineman reported that when the aircraft, registration N35DE, departed, the weather was "pretty nasty," with intermittent rain, an overcast sky, and the mountains to the east obscured.
Search and Discovery
Other pilots had attempted to fly through La Veta Pass earlier but were forced to turn back because the pass was obscured. The airplane was located four days later on the south face of Mount Maestas, which has an elevation of 11,569 feet mean sea level (MSL). The wreckage was found at about the 9,000-foot level, just below La Veta Pass summit, which is 9,413 feet MSL.
Examination Findings
Examination of the wreckage did not disclose any evidence of mechanical malfunction. No further details regarding the condition of the occupants or the specific circumstances of the event were provided in the source.