What happened
A pilot was reported missing after failing to arrive at the destination of a multi-state, cross-country flight. The pilot had filed an IFR flight plan the previous night and obtained a weather briefing that proved to be substantially correct. However, the departure was delayed by fog. Because the pilot never refiled or reopened the flight plan following the delay, the aircraft's progress was not updated.
One week after the accident, Civil Air Patrol search aircraft located the wreckage. The site was found at an elevation of 11,760 feet on a mountain, approximately 1,000 feet below the peak and about two miles south of the route of flight specified in the original flight plan.
Witnesses on the ground reported that the day of the accident featured thunderstorms, heavy rain, and gusty winds, with clouds obscuring the mountaintop. While the pilot's filed altitude was 13,000 feet, pilot reports from the morning and early afternoon indicated cloud bases between 10,000 and 12,000 feet, with higher layers extending to 24,000 feet. Conditions above 12,000 feet were favorable for light to moderate clear or mixed icing within clouds and precipitation.
The investigation
An examination of the engine and airframe revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. A review of the pilot's logbook showed 223 hours of actual instrument time and 71 hours of simulated instrument time, noting that only three hours of instrument time had been logged in the four months prior to the accident.