DEN06FA114 · Cirrus Design Corp. SR20

While maneuvering in night visual meteorological conditions, the airplane impacted mountainous terrain and was destroyed by impact forces. Prior to departure, the pilot obtained a weather briefing which reported thunderstorms and moderate to severe precipitation along the intended route of flight. During the flight, the pilot inquired to air traffic control on several occasions that he thought about diverting; however, he elected to continue along the route of flight until the weather conditions deteriorated to a point that he decided to divert. After diverting to an alternate airport, the pilot attempted a non-precision approach. During the approach, the pilot failed to turn on the runway lights, which were to be activated by the pilot through the UNICOM frequency. A witness observed the airplane over fly the runway and the runway lights were not illuminated. Because the pilot could not see the runway during the approach, he executed a missed approach; however, he did not fly the published missed approach procedure resulting in an impact with mountainous terrain. Rescue personnel reported that the pilot stated he was "flying last night in bad weather, it was a stupid thing to do and he should not have been flying." The accident site was located on rock and sagebrush covered terrain at an elevation of 8,350 feet approximately 4 miles west from the runway threshold. At the time of the accident, the weather conditions at the airport were reported as visibility 10 statute miles, rain, scattered clouds at 3,300 feet, and density altitude of approximately 9,500 feet. The pilot had accumulated approximately 20 hours in the accident airplane make and model, 11 night flight hours, and no actual instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) flight experience as a single pilot. No anomalies were noted with the airframe and engine.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset