What happened
A flight originating from Chico, California, bound for Billings, Montana, struck the side of Mt Moran in northwest Wyoming. The aircraft was operating during the night under heavy fog when it collided with the 12,605-foot peak, situated south of Yellowstone National Park. The flight departed at 15:15 local time and impacted the mountain slope at approximately 17:50 local time.
The aircraft was carrying a total of 21 people, consisting of ten adults, eight children, and a crew of three. Following the failure of the plane to reach its destination in Montana, search and rescue operations were initiated. Local farmers reported seeing a fire on the mountain, which authorities suspected was related to the crash site. Due to the extreme difficulty of accessing the terrain, locating the wreckage took significant time.
All 21 occupants perished in the accident.
Findings
The collision occurred while the aircraft was in the cruise phase of flight. The primary contributing factor was low visibility caused by foggy conditions during nighttime operations.