What happened
During a flight departing from Ellensburg toward McChord Air Force Base, the aircraft disappeared while traversing a mountainous area characterized by heavy snow cover. After the flight failed to reach its intended destination, search and rescue teams initiated operations to locate the missing plane and its occupants. Despite these efforts, the search was officially terminated several days later when no evidence of the wreckage or the crew could be located.
It was not until the following summer that hikers discovered the debris in a highly isolated location. The incident involved two fatalities, as both the pilot and the passenger were lost in the crash.
Findings
No specific technical cause for the crash was documented in the initial reports, though the aircraft's location in a remote, snow-laden mountain range suggests that challenging terrain and weather conditions played a role in the difficulty of the recovery efforts.