Incident Overview
The airplane collided with mountainous terrain during climb to cruise on a night departure. The flight was an on-demand cargo operation, and the pilot had been brought in off reserve to replace the scheduled pilot, who was ill. The departure was behind schedule because the cargo arrived late. When the instrument flight release caused further delay, the pilot opted to depart under visual flight rules (VFR) into a clear, dark night, with the intention of picking up an instrument clearance once airborne.
Departure and ATC Communications
Upon clearing the flight for takeoff, the tower controller issued a suggested heading of 340 degrees, which directed the aircraft toward mountainous terrain approximately 11 miles north of the airport. The purpose of this suggested heading was not stated to the pilot, as required by FAA Order 7110.65L. After switching to the radar departure control frequency, the controller asked the pilot, "Are you direct [the initial route fix] at this time?" The pilot replied, "We can go ahead and we'll go direct [the initial fix]." A turn toward the initial fix would have headed the aircraft away from high terrain.
ATC Actions and Terrain Awareness
The controller then diverted attention to servicing another VFR aircraft, while the accident aircraft continued to fly heading 340 degrees until it impacted the mountain. ATC personnel later indicated that the 340-degree heading was routinely issued to departing aircraft to avoid entering Class B airspace located 3 miles from the airport. The approach control supervisor stated that this flight departs daily, often under VFR, and routinely turns toward the initial fix, thereby avoiding mountainous terrain. The supervisor also noted that when the pilot said he would go to the initial fix, the controller expected him to turn away from the terrain.
Warning Systems and Data Entry
Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW) was not enabled for the flight. The original instrument flight plan did not route the aircraft through this approach control's airspace, and the controller had not had time to manually enter the flight data. High terrain was not displayed on the controller's radar display, and no safety alert was issued.