Incident Overview
A pilot departing from an airport in the eastern Sierra Nevada region climbed southwest and attempted to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains from east to west. During the crossing, the pilot reported encountering a downdraft. He stated that he maintained best rate of climb airspeed, but the aircraft continued to descend until it went below the tops of surrounding ridges into a canyon. The canyon was too narrow to attempt a course reversal.
Forced Landing
As the ground neared, the pilot executed a flare and the aircraft touched down in a rocky area on the mountainside. After touchdown, the aircraft slid forward until it contacted a boulder. The accident site is at the 7,500-foot level on a mountain located 10 miles southwest of the departure airport.
Weather Briefings
Transcripts of landline and air-to-ground communications established that the pilot received four preflight weather briefings and one in-flight weather update. Each briefing advised that VFR flight was not recommended over the intended route due to an approaching cold front. Flight precautions in effect included mountain obscurement, occasional moderate turbulence due to increasing westerly winds, occasional moderate rime and mixed icing in clouds and precipitation, and forecast IFR conditions at the destination.
Eyewitness Report
An FAA inspector who lives on the lower slopes of the mountain below the accident site reported that in the early morning hours, the top of the mountain was obscured by clouds, with rain and lower ceilings occurring later in the morning. Additionally, he stated that the hills defining the mountain pass north of the accident site and west of the airport—through which the main east-west interstate highway traverses from Reno to Sacramento—were obscured by ragged low clouds.