Accident Overview
A private pilot was attempting to transit a 20-mile-long mountainous pass. The pilot had delayed the flight three times on the day of the accident. Pilot weather reports (PIREPS) from pilots who had flown through the pass indicated that weather conditions deteriorated about one mile west of the accident site to 700-foot overcast ceilings and 1-mile visibility. The PIREPS described rain, mist, and winds from the east at 25 knots, gusting to 40 knots.
Impact and Flight Path
The airplane impacted a tree on a small ridge on the side of the valley at an altitude of 950 feet msl. It came to rest 380 linear feet away at an altitude of 700 feet msl. The final flight path was on a ground track of 060 degrees magnetic, back toward the eastern entrance to the pass.
Pilot Interviews
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge interviewed four pilots who successfully transited the pass during the time period surrounding the accident. All four indicated that at 950 feet msl, the accident airplane would have been at or into the bases of the overcast. They also stated that they flew through the pass between 300 and 800 feet in order to maintain visual contact with the terrain.
Postaccident Inspection
A postaccident inspection of the airplane disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies.