What happened
An aircraft crashed on the northeast side of Halfdo Mountain, positioned at an elevation of approximately 1,600 feet. The wreckage was found at a heading of roughly 270 degrees. The site of the impact was situated within two miles of the initial approach fix used for the localizer/DME runway 16 approach into McGrath. At the time of the accident, the pilot was the only person on board the aircraft and was killed in the crash.
Findings
Environmental conditions at the time of the accident were significantly degraded. According to AIRMET Sierra, mountain peaks were obscured by clouds, and ceiling heights were reported to be intermittently 1,500 feet broken. Additionally, the area was experiencing snow showers of such intensity that they prevented search aircraft from operating effectively. The crash occurred at an altitude significantly below the minimum estimated altitude for the DME arc, which is 3,600 feet above mean sea level, and below the sector obstruction clearance altitude of 3,100 feet.