This happened not far from where Audie Murphey went down in the same kind a terrain.
It's a bad area. My brother used to pilot a small plane and he tells harrowing stories about the occasional difficulty in getting over the Blue Ridge from nearby Roanoke. I also know a pilot who had to set a 747 down in Roanoke because he was in trouble. Not something he'd ever want to do again. Gorgeous area (all my ancestors are from there) but hard for planes.