Piper PA-22-150 N2967P accident near Canyonville, Oregon

Probable cause

The non-instrument-rated and non-certificated pilot’s decision to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions in mountainous terrain, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

NTSB analysis

The non-instrument-rated and non-certificated pilot was flying along a 49-mile route, which paralleled a major interstate highway. Mountainous terrain was located within a few miles of the highway, and, in the accident site area, mountains rose to 3,300 feet mean sea level (msl). While flying about 0.7 miles west of the highway, the pilot collided with a mountain at 2,400 feet msl. Near the departure airport, about 23 miles northwest of the accident site, the base of the overcast ceiling was between 2,000 and 2,200 feet msl. Witnesses located about 1 mile north of the crash site reported that the mountaintop south of their position was not visible at the time of the accident due to the cloud coverage. The wreckage and ground scar signatures were consistent with a level-flight impact into the terrain. Thus, it is likely that the pilot, while attempting to fly just below the clouds, encountered instrument meteorological conditions and lost visual reference to the mountainous terrain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09FA428 for the full record.