What happened
During flight through marginal weather conditions, a twin engine aircraft collided with trees and crashed within a mountainous area obscured by clouds. At the time of the accident, the pilot was the only person on board the aircraft. The impact resulted in one fatality.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified that the pilot failed to maintain sufficient altitude during the flight. The official conclusion determined that the crash occurred during the cruise phase due to improper IFR operation by the pilot. Several contributing factors were noted during the inquiry:
- Air traffic control personnel provided instructions that were either conflicting or incorrect.
- Weather observations from Santa Fe indicated that mountain peaks were hidden by cloud cover.
- The air traffic controller lacked sufficient familiarity with the high terrain and the Minimum Safe Altitude (MVA) in the specific area of flight.