Flight Details
The pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight with one passenger in a twin-engine airplane. There was no record that the pilot received a weather briefing before the flight.
While en route, the pilot was in contact with air traffic control and received visual flight rules (VFR) flight-following services. About 18 miles from the destination airport, radar service was terminated, as is typical in the region due to insufficient radio and radar coverage below 7,000 ft. At that time, the airplane was heading northeast at 4,900 ft mean sea level (msl), approximately 2,200 ft above ground level (agl).
About four minutes later, radar coverage resumed. The airplane was then 6 miles west of the airport at 4,100 ft msl (1,400 ft agl) and climbing to the north. It climbed through 6,000 ft msl (3,300 ft agl), then began a shallow left turn, climbing to 6,600 ft msl (3,800 ft agl). It then began to descend while continuing the shallow left turn. The last radar data point showed the airplane about 20 nautical miles northwest of the airport at 5,100 ft msl (2,350 ft agl) on a southwest heading. The final recorded data was about 13 miles northwest of the accident site.
Weather Conditions
A witness near the destination airport heard the pilot on the radio. The pilot asked about the cloud height, and the witness responded that the clouds were 800 to 1,000 ft agl. In his final radio call, the pilot said, "Ok, see you in a little bit." The witness did not see the airplane in the air.
A cold front had advanced from the northeast, and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed across the region surrounding the accident site and the destination airport. Cloud ceilings were 400 ft to 900 ft agl. The airplane likely experienced wind shear below 3,000 ft, and there was likely icing in the clouds. Moderate icing conditions were forecast for the accident site about the time of the accident, but investigators were unable to determine the amount and severity of icing the flight may have experienced. The weather conditions had deteriorated over the previous one to two hours. Conditions at the destination airport had been clear about two hours before the accident and VFR about one hour before, when the pilot departed.
Accident Sequence
The airplane impacted terrain in a slightly nose-low and wings-level attitude with no evidence of forward movement. A postimpact fire destroyed a majority of the wreckage. The damage to the airplane was consistent with a relatively flat spin to the left at the time of impact.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. A detailed examination of the cockpit instruments and other portions of the wreckage was not possible due to fire damage.
Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the pilot was unable to maintain control of the airplane, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin into terrain.