History of Flight
The flight originated in Langley, British Columbia, with a short trip to Abbotsford for refueling, arriving at 1128 Pacific daylight time. The aircraft then departed for a west-to-east visual flight through the Coast Mountains. The pilot had been briefed on the weather before departure, including a low ceiling and poor visibility, and was informed that an earlier VFR flight had detoured around the Hope Slide due to weather.
Weather and Terrain
The intended route included the Hope Slide pass, which has an elevation of 2,432 feet above sea level. Weather observations at Hope indicated a broken ceiling at 1,800 feet at 1200 PDT, lower than the pass altitude. As the aircraft approached the pass, low clouds blocked the route at about 2,100 feet elevation. The valley was too narrow for a course reversal. The aircraft entered the clouds, then reappeared in a steep, nose-down attitude before crashing to the ground and bursting into flames.
Cause
The Transportation Safety Board determined that the pilot attempted to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions. The weather conditions were unsuitable for the proposed VFR flight through the Hope Slide pass. After the aircraft entered the clouds, the pilot likely lost control. The aircraft stalled and crashed to the ground. No evidence of engine or airframe failure or system malfunction was found. The aircraft was in cruise configuration with the engine developing power at impact. The vertical, nose-down attitude was consistent with a stall during flight in cloud.