GA CrashAnalysis

VFR into IMC · NTSB ANC24LA069

BEECH A35 — Gustavus, AK

3 fatal High-time pilot
DateJuly 20, 2024
LocationGustavus, AK
AircraftBEECH A35
Purpose of flightPersonal
ConditionsDay · Unk
Phase / occurrenceEnroute Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
Pilot age78
Pilot total time28,309 hrs · High time
Time in type3,904 hrs
Fatalities3

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

NTSB findings

  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Below VFR minima-Contributed to outcome
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Obscuration-Contributed to outcome
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Low visibility-Contributed to outcome
  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot

28,000 hours, and a wall of cloud he chose to fly into.

A Bonanza launched from Juneau on a visual-flight-rules flight to Yakutat with two passengers aboard. ADS-B data shows it tracking into the mountainous heart of Glacier Bay National Park — where the weather was unflyable for visual flight. An AIRMET was out for mountain obscuration, ceilings were near the ground, and visibility was under a quarter mile.

The airplane held a steady westerly heading at 10,875 feet and 141 knots — straight, level, and under control — until the track simply stopped against the east face of East Crillon mountain. The terrain there rises to 11,220 feet. He flew a working airplane into a mountain he almost certainly never saw.

The investigation found the pilot had not logged actual or simulated instrument time in more than five years, and the airplane was not even maintained to the standard required for instrument flight. There was no record that he obtained a weather briefing from any official source.

How the chain formed

  • No weather briefing on file — the AIRMET for mountain obscuration was already published before departure.
  • A VFR flight pressed into deteriorating mountain weather with no visual reference and rising terrain ahead.
  • Instrument skills years out of currency, and an airplane not legal or equipped for instrument flight.
  • No evident turn-around trigger: nothing in the flight suggests a pre-decided point at which the pilot would stop and reverse course.

The lesson

VFR-into-IMC is the textbook killer of general aviation — and it did not care that this pilot held 28,309 hours rather than 100. It is a decision accident, not a stick-and-rudder one, and decision-making erodes under get-there-itis, terrain, and a schedule at any level of experience.

How you avoid this

  • Get a weather briefing and honor the AIRMET — mountain obscuration plus VFR means don't go, or go around.
  • Set a hard personal turn-around minimum before takeoff and treat it as non-negotiable.
  • Stay instrument-current, or stay out of the clouds — 'I used to be good at this' is not currency.
  • Remember the 180-degree turn is free. The terrain ahead is not.
Read the official NTSB narrative

The accident airplane departed Juneau on a visual-flight-rules flight; according to ADS-B data, the flight initially headed northwest for about 72 miles. The airplane’s track then changed direction to a southwesterly heading and began flying through the mountainous terrain of Glacier Bay National Park for an additional 30 miles. The airplane’s flight track continued along a westerly heading of 245°, at an altitude of 10,875 ft above mean sea level (msl) and with a groundspeed of 141 kts, consistent with straight and level flight, before it abruptly stopped on the eastern side of East Crillon mountain. The elevation of the terrain above the last data point is about 11,220 ft msl.

A preliminary NTSB weather study indicated cloud bases as low as 2,200 ft msl and tops no lower than 12,000 ft msl in the accident region, with surface visibilities less than 0.25 statute miles. The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model suggested the presence of clouds from 3,000 ft msl to 12,500 ft msl in the accident region. The National Weather Service (NWS) had issued an Airmen’s Meteorological Information (AIRMET) for mountain obscuration in the accident region.

An aerial search of the accident site and the surrounding area revealed portions of highly fragmented airplane wreckage on the eastern side of East Crillon mountain about 6,260 ft msl. The portions of wreckage were found more than 4,500 ft below the suspected initial impact site, and spread out over an area of rough, steep, and crevasse-covered glaciated terrain. Portions of the fragmented wreckage were subsequently identified as belonging to the accident airplane by comparing photos of the airplane’s distinctive paint scheme with photos of the wreckage.

Due to dangerous conditions present at the accident site, the wreckage could not be recovered.

View the official NTSB docket →