Rates and causes of accidents for general aviation aircraft operating in a mountainous and high elevation terrain environment.

Background: Flying over mountainous and/or high elevation terrain is challenging due to rapidly changeable visibility, gusty/rotor winds and downdrafts and the necessity of terrain avoidance. Herein, general aviation accident rates and mishap cause/factors were determined (2001-2014) for a geographical region characterized by such terrain.

Methods: Accidents in single piston engine-powered aircraft for states west of the US continental divide characterized by mountainous terrain and/or high elevation (MEHET) were identified from the NTSB database.