What happened
A charter flight operated by Edde Airlines was performing a multi-leg journey from Salt Lake City toward Albuquerque, with a scheduled stop in Provo. The aircraft was transporting a group of football fans at the time of the accident. Approximately four minutes after departing from Salt Lake City Airport, the aircraft reached an altitude of 5,500 feet when it collided with a mountain slope situated roughly 22 miles south of the city.
The impact occurred near a summit reaching 5,449 feet, with debris located just 11 feet below the peak. The force of the collision resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft type and left no survivors among the 13 fatalities. At the moment of the crash, the flight path was approximately one mile east of its planned trajectory.
Findings
Investigations into the accident concluded that the crew was operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) despite encountering unfavorable weather. The primary factor in the crash was that the crew operated in adverse weather conditions while flying under VFR, which was accompanied by a lack of proper judgment regarding the flight environment.