What happened
During a flight conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), an aircraft struck a mountain slope in the vicinity of Weston. At the time of the accident, the area was experiencing heavy fog and low visibility. The impact occurred while the plane was cruising through clouds that obscured the terrain. The collision resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and caused seven fatalities, with no survivors among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that the crew was operating under VFR despite the presence of adverse weather conditions. This decision led to the flight crew becoming lost and disoriented while navigating through the fog. A significant contributing factor was that the crew attempted to conduct an IFR-style flight using a defective directional gyro, which hindered their ability to maintain proper navigation and altitude awareness.