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Approaching his destination confronted by weather conditions that he had not been led to expect, and flying a plane that was not equipped with de-icing devices, Captain Norris asked for and got permission to climb to 15,000 ft. At 11:21 a.m., he said that he could see the south shore of Lake Tahoe. Eight minutes later, he radioed: "Flight 901A . . ." Then his radio went dead.
The CAB surmised that Norris, finding himself in a blizzard as he started to land, abandoned his authorized approach and headed eastward at 9,000 ft. toward what he hoped would be clear sky. "Then, either because they believed they had sufficient altitude to clear the terrain or because they were unable to climb higher due to structural ice, the aircraft leveled off," said the CAB. "At that time they struck the first trees and were unable to avoid the final impact with the mountain."