What happened
The aircraft departed McCall, Idaho, for a planned 45-minute flight to Cottonwood, Idaho. No flight plan was filed for this trip. After the aircraft failed to reach Cottonwood, a family member reported it missing, prompting a search operation.
The wreckage was located the following day on a slope within the Salmon River/U.S. highway 95 canyon, approximately 3 nautical miles south-southwest of Lucile, Idaho. The impact occurred on the west slope of the north/south oriented river canyon, at an elevation of roughly 800 to 900 feet above the valley floor. Nearby terrain rises to 6,927 feet MSL within 5 nautical miles west of the site and to 7,814 feet MSL within 5 nautical miles east.
At the time of the accident, weather conditions consisted of dark night visual meteorological conditions with no moon. While the departure airport reported few clouds at approximately 10,500 feet MSL, cloud cover near the destination increased to broken or overcast levels between 10,000 and 10,500 feet MSL.
The investigation
Analysis of the wreckage and impact signatures indicated that the aircraft struck near the spine of a northwest-facing finger ridge. The aircraft was traveling on an easterly heading in a generally level flight attitude at the time of impact. Portions of the aircraft continued east past the initial impact point into adjacent ravines before coming to rest. Post-accident examinations revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical or structural malfunctions.