What happened
During a night flight from Nome to Koyuk, Alaska, an aircraft struck a mountain at an elevation of 2,725 feet. The impact occurred along the direct flight path connecting the two Alaskan airports. At the time of departure from Nome, the sky was covered by an overcast ceiling of 3,500 feet. However, conditions at the site of the crash were significantly more severe, characterized by heavy snow, blowing snow, and visibility that was difficult to define.
No flight plan, either under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) or Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), had been filed with the FAA for this trip. The pilot was utilizing a handheld GPS unit that had been borrowed from another aviator. While the device was on board, investigators were unable to recover data from the unit. Discrepancies were noted regarding the device's configuration, as the owner of the GPS indicated that the waypoints programmed into the unit differed from those used by the pilot during the flight.
Findings
- The aircraft encountered heavy snow and blowing snow which severely impacted visibility.
- The pilot was operating without a filed flight plan.
- There was a discrepancy in the programmed waypoints on the handheld GPS used for navigation.