What happened
On the evening of the accident, an aircraft departed Boise, Idaho, at approximately 17:45 for a planned flight to Hailey, Idaho. No flight plan had been filed for this trip. At 18:16, the pilot contacted the Hailey tower, reporting a position ten miles west of the Hailey non-directional beacon. The controller subsequently instructed the pilot to report a three-mile final for runway 31.
At 18:18, the pilot informed the controller of the intention to perform a 360-degree turn to lose altitude, which was approved by the tower. When the controller requested a position update at 18:23, the pilot stated he was approximately five miles from the field at 7,500 feet and was setting up for the approach again. At 18:23, the controller cleared the aircraft to land on runway 31. The pilot provided only a partial reply before all communications ceased.
An alert notice (ALNOT) was issued for the missing aircraft at 21:13. On November 24, 2003, search and rescue personnel located the wreckage on the northeast side of Lookout Mountain, approximately 307 feet below the summit at an elevation of 7,539 feet. The aircraft had impacted steep, rising terrain while flying on a southwesterly heading in a level pitch attitude with a slight right wing low.
The investigation
Post-accident examinations of the aircraft revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical or structural malfunctions. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were characterized by dark night visual meteorological conditions, with broken clouds at 11,000 feet MSL near the destination. Other pilots in the area reported significant weather phenomena; one pilot noted winds aloft of at least 50 knots from the west, requiring a significant crab to maintain the runway centerline, while a flight instructor reported experiencing wind shear during final approach.