Cessna 182K accident near Augusta, Montana, August 8, 2024

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The non-instrument-rated pilot and two passengers departed on a cross-country flight toward mountainous terrain. During the first portion of the flight, visual meteorological conditions prevailed; however, the overcast cloud layer became lower as the airplane continued into rising terrain. Recorded flight data revealed that the pilot maneuvered the airplane through and between several mountain canyons and valleys as he continued in the general direction of the intended destination. The airplane crossed several ridges with as little as about 250 ft of terrain clearance and made a series of turns each time it approached high terrain immediately ahead. The airplane continued through rising terrain, then climbed through a narrow upslope mountain pass at the edge of the range. As the airplane approached the pass, it began a substantially steeper climb as the airspeed slowed, followed by a rapid descent and impact with the canyon wall. Weather forecast and observation data indicated that the region where the flight was conducted was broadly covered by an overcast layer with localized areas of low clouds, fog and mist. Weather information that would have been available to the pilot before the flight forecast marginal to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with clouds obscuring the mountains along the route of flight. Witnesses who were hiking in the area around the time of the accident and who were first to arrive on the scene confirmed that the pass near the accident site was windy and frequently enveloped in fog. It is likely that as the airplane flew into narrow valleys with increasing elevation, cloud ceilings were lower than the surrounding mountains, and the distance between the surface and the overcast layer became more constrained as the airplane continued along the route. Given the low overcast and mountain obscuration, limited options to navigate or reverse course in narrow, constrained terrain, and known conditions in the upsloping mountain pass where the accident occurred, it is likely that the airplane entered an area of clouds and subsequently impacted terrain.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.