The findings of the accident report published this week also stated that millionaire Worcestershire businessman Gary Key (45) was not properly qualified to fly in such poor visibility.

He crashed his 31-year-old Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance in atrocious weather near the summit of Cairn Gorm on Saturday, April 5, last year, not far from where hundreds of people were skiing and snowboarding.

At the time, Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team leader Willie Anderson said: "In aviation terms it was very close. If the plane had hit the Ptarmigan complex... well, it does not bear thinking about, but it was not far away."

Mr Key, who had around 440 hours of flying experience, had been planning to fly from the UK to Orlando in Florida, and was originally en-route to Wick Airport when he got into difficulties.

The report by the Air Accident Investigation Board of the Department of Transport stated that the Met Office's information and the pilot's report of severe weather and icing suggested he was flying in very challenging conditions. The difficulty of the situation was also compounded by radio problems.

The report concluded: "He was not qualified to fly in such conditions but had some experience of doing so.

"The aircraft was not cleared for flight in icing conditions, and it seems to have climbed only about 400 feet during the last seven track miles before it struck Cairn Gorm, approximately 150 feet below the summit.

"This suggests that the pilot may have been attempting to climb above the high ground.

"Witness reports of the conditions at the time also suggest that the pilot would not have seen the terrain ahead of him in sufficient time to avoid the impact, which proved fatal.

"The severity of the pilot's injuries, in particular to his head, may not have been as great had he been wearing his shoulder restraint, in addition to his lap strap.

"However, although considered unlikely, it was not possible to determine whether the accident would have been survivable had he done so."

The plane, registered G-BSYC, crashed at around 9.48am at a spot known as Marquis Well, just 250 metres directly south of the Ptarmigan tow ski lift, one kilometre from the restaurant. The investigation found no fault with the aircraft or any medical condition for Mr Key leading to the crash.

In his last contact at 9.44am, the pilot called Inverness ATC. Mr Key reported that he seemed to have a problem with his 'comms one'. In a broken transmission, he advised Inverness ATC that he was diverting to Aberdeen.

The report stated: "He had encountered some severe weather, mentioned some icing and asked for details on Aberdeen or that he be given a vector."

Mr Key agreed with the air traffic controller's suggestion to divert to nearer Inverness rather than Aberdeen.

He was informed they were very quickly going to lose radio contact and gave him the Aberdeen Approach and the Distress and Diversion Cell frequencies.

Mr Key responded that he was not 'reading' Inverness ATC. The crew of a commercial aircraft, inbound to Inverness, successfully relayed the transmissions between the pilot and air traffic control.

The report stated: "They also gave the pilot details of the recent weather conditions at Aberdeen. Following that transmission, the commercial crew sought confirmation from the pilot that he had copied the information. There was no reply. It was 0948hrs."

A member of the mountain rescue team surveys the wreckage of the crashed light aircraft.

An employee of the Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS), standing near the Ptarmigan station at the time, saw the outline of the plane overhead.

The report said: "She recalled it being very cold and snowing, with visibility of about 50 metres and a moderate northerly wind. She heard an aircraft approaching from behind her and immediately looked up to see the grey shape of a small aircraft passing overhead.

"She couldn't distinguish any colouring or details, but estimated that it was at a height of approximately 100 feet above ground level. The aircraft, which was travelling south-south-east, quickly vanished from sight and the engine noise, which sounded steady, faded rapidly.

"At about the same time, a member of staff who was working as a lift operator in the same vicinity heard a light aircraft but thought that it was at a low height. The engine noise, which was muffled by the wind and cloud, sounded normal."

A few minutes later a search and rescue was launched involving helicopters from RAF Lossiemouth and the Royal Naval Air Station at Prestwick.

Members of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team and five other rescue teams were deployed to the aircraft's last radar position.

The search was hampered by the snow and poor weather. However, the following day at 10.40am, the aircraft wreckage and the body of the pilot were discovered by one of the rescuers.

The report stated: "A post mortem concluded that the pilot had died as a result of multiple injuries, including a particularly severe head injury, sustained during large deceleration forces when the aircraft struck the ground."

The wreckage trail was 200 metres in length, and the direction of the impact track indicated that the aircraft had flown into rising ground on the northern flank of Cairn Gorm.

The report stated: "This had brought the propeller and nose underside into violent contact with the ground, resulting in serious disruption to the forward fuselage, including the removal of much of the floor in the forward cabin area.

"The degree of damage was consistent with the aircraft having struck the ground at a typical cruising speed and altitude. The fact that the fuselage had come to rest facing back along the track suggested that the wing contact with the ground had resulted in a horizontal cartwheel manoeuvre."

The main wreckage was recovered using a piste basher, and the remainder was gathered over the following weeks as the snow and ice thawed, and taken to the AAIB's facility at Farnborough for a more detailed examination.

The AAIB said Mr Key, who lived in Stourport with his partner, Katrina Moran, did not hold a qualification to fly in visibility of less than three kilometres or out of sight of the surface. However, he had completed a course to qualify for an Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) rating in 2004.

Mr Key had started his journey at Gamston Airfield in Nottinghamshire on April 4.

Following the accident his logbook was recovered from the aircraft but was in poor condition.

There was evidence that in September, 2006, he flew a Piper PA-28 Warrior II from Florida to the UK. Amongst his many companies were Olympia Homes and Gary Key Aircraft Leasing.

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