What happened
During a flight traveling from Anchorage toward Whittier, an unspecified single-engine aircraft encountered increasingly severe weather while navigating through a canyon. As the pilot proceeded into the canyon terrain, the airplane experienced a loss of altitude and subsequently impacted a riverbed.
All six fatalities were recorded in the accident, with no survivors reported from the aircraft's occupants.
Findings
The investigation identified several critical factors that led to the accident. The primary cause was the pilot's decision to maintain Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight despite the presence of adverse weather conditions. This resulted in the aircraft entering a blind canyon where visibility or control became unmanageable.
Additional contributing elements included:
- A sudden change in wind direction
- The presence of both updrafts and downdrafts
- Poor decision-making regarding flight continuation
- The aircraft was equipped with floats
- The absence of an antenna for the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)