February 06, Walcott, Wyo. / Cessna 206

At 1123 mountain time, a Cessna T206H struck terrain during cruise flight near Walcott. The pilot was killed, but one passenger received minor injuries and one escaped uninjured. Instrument conditions prevailed at the accident site. The flight was on a VFR flight plan and the pilot had just received an IFR flight plan. The flight had originated at Broomfield, Colo., about an hour and a half earlier, and was en route to Jackson Hole, Wyo. The pilot was given an IFR clearance as the airplane neared Medicine Bow VOR, with the instruction to follow V-6, the 252 radial outbound from the VOR. However, as the airplane crossed the VOR it diverged south. An ELT signal was received 17 minutes later. One of the passengers called 911 on a cell phone and got a local sheriffs office. It took the rescue team eight hours to reach the accident site, which was at 10,000 feet in six feet of fresh snow.