Preliminary Report: Conquest crashes in snow and fog

Cessna 425 Conquest I, Bozeman, Mont., Nov. 29, 2005–Salt Lake Center had cleared Conquest N701QR for the procedure turn to a holding pattern at 12:40 p.m. and told the pilot to contact Gallatin Field, his destination. The pilot, the sole occupant, read back the clearance correctly and there were no further transmissions. The airplane disappeared from radar at 5:40 p.m. and crashed on a ranch. The pilot was killed.
Weather conditions were light wind, visibility two-and-a-half miles, light snow and fog, temperature 21 degrees F. The aircraft was en route from Algona, Iowa, on an IFR flight plan. Rescue operations that night were halted because of darkness and snow; the airplane was found the next morning.