Piper PA-32 N8327S accident near Koliganek, Alaska

Probable cause

The pilot's VFR flight into adverse weather conditions that resulted in a collision with snow-covered terrain during a turn to reverse direction. Factors contributing to the accident were low ceilings, flat lighting conditions, and the snow-covered terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he was in cruise flight about 700 feet agl over near featureless snow-covered terrain when he encounter lowering ceilings. He described the weather conditions as rapidly deteriorating. He began a turn to reverse direction, and the airplane collided with terrain. His destination, about 10 miles away, was reporting a visibility of 2 miles in mist, and a ceiling of 400 feet broken. The ceiling was variable between 200 to 900 feet. A low ceiling and snow-covered terrain likely produced flat lighting conditions, making visual reference to terrain, and determining height above the ground difficult.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC08LA046 for the full record.