The aircraft left Kildala at 1532 bound for Vancouver carrying twenty passengers and a crew of three. At 1733 the aircraft reported over Sullivan Bay and gave its ETA Vancouver as 1840. At 1825 the ETA Vancouver was revised to 1903 on account of strong southeast winds. The next and last radio transmission received was at 1848 when the aircraft reported it was 20 miles west of Vancouver at 2,000 feet and requested clearance to the tower frequency. At approximately 1855 hours the aircraft crashed into Mount Benson. All occupants were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause (official findings): The probable cause of this accident was the continuance of the flight VFR at night under conditions of restricted visibility. Whilst it cannot be determined conclusively, it is probable that through a navigation error the pilot mistook Nanaimo for Vancouver. This may have been precipitated by inadequate pre-flight preparation in that the latest Meteorological Information was not obtained by the pilot before taking off on the south bound flight.