Accident Summary
On a night flight from Eagle, Colorado, to Las Vegas, Nevada, the pilot encountered strong headwinds and severe icing conditions. While flying in low ceiling, the pilot lost control of the airplane, which dove into the ground and crashed in mountainous terrain near Hatch, New Mexico. The wreckage was discovered four days later, on January 24, and all six occupants were killed.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined that the accident resulted from an uncontrolled descent following poor judgment and improper in-flight decisions by the pilot. The following factors were reported as contributing to the accident:
- Icing conditions including sleet and/or freezing rain
- Ice accumulation on the propeller
- Airframe ice
- Inadequate preflight preparation
- Improperly loaded aircraft and center of gravity
- Miscalculated fuel consumption
- Low ceiling
- Adverse winds aloft
- Strong headwinds
- Low fuel
- Severe icing conditions
- Continued flight through icing conditions until altitude was not maintained
The aircraft was found four days after the crash, indicating the remote and challenging search conditions.