The airplane collided with terrain about 1148 Mountain time, sustaining substantial damage. The private pilot and the one passenger aboard received fatal injures. Instrument conditions prevailed for portions of the flight; visual conditions prevailed at the accident site.
While in cruise at 13,000 feet msl, the pilot reported he was in icing conditions; ATC cleared the flight to descend to 11,000 feet msl. At 1137, the pilot again requested a lower altitude due to icing conditions. At 1145, the pilot stated he was experiencing icing conditions and was “going down staying on course.” At 1147, the pilot reported that he was “headed toward an airport.” At 1148, a radio transmission, believed to be from the pilot of the accident aircraft, was received indicating that the pilot was experiencing problems with an engine and was “going down.”