Civil Aeronautics Board

“ Surface winds along the route were westerly of less than five knots, becoming northwesterly ten knots at 2,000 feet and northerly ten to 15 knots between 5,000 and 10,000 feet above mean sea level. Over the northern two-thirds of the route occasional light icing would have been experienced in the clouds above the freezing level to 11,000 feet. Turbulence was unlikely except for possible light turbulence near Tanana. Over the remainder of the route and in the McGrath area light icing was present in the clouds and in precipitation above the freezing level. ”

“ The pilot stated that he then had the field in sight and requested terrain information between his aircraft and McGrath. McGrath reported that from the information received from Tatalina they believed his aircraft to be in the vicinity of Cloudy Mountain, which is 4,200 feet above sea level. McGrath radio also informed the flight that to the south Takotna Mountain and the Kuskowim Mountains rose to approximately 3,100 feet and 2,300 feet altitudes, respectively, and that to the north of Cloudy Mountain the terrain was slightly higher. ”

“ Pilot Priest had nearly 2—1/2 hours of fuel upon leaving Tanana for a flight that he estimated would take about 1-1/2 hours. However, he became lost and consumed considerable time and fuel before reaching the general vicinity of McGrath. Based on conservative fuel consumption figures the fuel would have been [2] , or almost exhausted at the time of the accident. After receiving terrain altitude information from McGrath the pilot climbed into the overcast to ensure ground clearance. ”