What happened
During a solo night cross-country flight through mountainous terrain, the pilot was cleared by air traffic control to perform an RNAV (GPS)-E instrument approach toward the destination. After passing the final approach fix but prior to reaching the missed approach point, the pilot initiated a left turn that aligned with the established missed approach procedure. During this maneuver, the aircraft type failed to gain altitude. Shortly after the turn began, the aircraft struck steep, rising terrain.
At the time of the accident, local weather conditions included a cloud ceiling of 1,200 feet above ground level and visibility of one statute mile, both of which were below the required minimums for the approach. While the pilot had reviewed METARs for the destination and a nearby airport before departure, the preflight briefing indicated VFR conditions with light snow. This suggests the pilot may not have realized the destination had transitioned to IFR conditions with below-minimum visibility until descending into the area.
Findings
An analysis of onboard avionics data confirmed that while the pilot followed the published route for the instrument approach, the minimum required altitudes were not maintained. Evidence suggests the pilot likely realized the weather was below minimums and chose to execute a missed approach, as indicated by the flight path and the fact that the landing gear and flaps were in a state of transition. No mechanical failures or anomalies were identified during the post-accident inspection that would have prevented the aircraft from operating normally.