The aircraft last contacted Cheyenne at 02:16 or 02:17 local time, reporting its position as Silver Crown beacon.

At 2:00 a.m. the weather at the Cheyenne airport was recorded as clear with ceiling unlimited, air temperature of 41.7F (5.4C), and dew point 37.0F (2.8C), and winds out of the northwest at 9 miles per hour (14.4 km/h).

Marks on the ground made by the propellers, fuselage, and engine showed the aircraft was in a normal flight attitude.

According to the accident report, navigation along the route from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, relied on tower-mounted rotating beacons, and the last radio communications by the crew indicated that they knew their position relative to the "Silver Crown" beacon located approximately 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

[1] According to the accident report, the cockpit lights were set to maximum intensity at the time of the crash, which reduces visibility outside the aircraft during night flight.

[1] Passenger Vincent Butler was a prominent attorney for a law firm that represented the Standard Oil Company of California, and was traveling to Chicago.

Passenger Juliet Hillman was vacationing at a dude ranch and visiting her sister who lived in Reno.

Passenger John F. Cushing was a Civil Engineer and at the time of the crash served as President of the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co.

Passenger Roy Bane recently moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he hoped to build a washing machine business.

Notable missing passenger: Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover gave a speech in Oakland, California, on Oct. 6, 1935.