What happened
On the day of the accident, the pilot departed Asheville at 16:56 heading toward Mountain Air Airport, located approximately 27 miles north of Asheville. The pilot was operating N396PM, a single-engine aircraft, following a previous day's flight that had been interrupted by poor visibility. At 17:01, the pilot reported being in visual flight rules conditions at an altitude of 4,000 feet. The final radar contact was recorded at 17:04 by Atlanta Center, showing the aircraft at 3,800 feet, roughly five miles south of the crash location.
After the aircraft failed to reach its destination, an emergency locator transmitter signal was detected via satellite, prompting search and rescue efforts. The wreckage and the pilot were discovered the following afternoon near the side of Bullhead Mountain. The aircraft had struck 75-foot trees at an altitude of approximately 4,800 feet MSL while maintaining a wings-level attitude on a 17-degree heading. The impact caused the aircraft to travel an additional 300 feet, leading to a structural breakup. There was no evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction regarding the engine, propeller, or flight controls prior to the impact.
Findings
Investigation into the crash site revealed that the aircraft struck the trees while flying through heavy cloud cover. While the pilot reported visual flight conditions shortly before the accident, a witness near the Blue Ridge Parkway reported dense fog in the area. Satellite imagery confirmed the presence of clouds at the crash site, and the Asheville airport had reported overcast conditions and reduced visibility due to haze. At the time of the flight, an Airmet for mountain obscuration was active. Notably, there was no evidence that the pilot had obtained a weather briefing from a Flight Service Station prior to departure.