What happened
The pilot was conducting a night flight over the airport when he identified the runway lights and subsequently entered the traffic pattern for landing. During the final approach phase, the pilot observed a rotating beacon in his vicinity. Due to the low-light conditions, he initially interpreted this light source as another aircraft holding short of the runway.
As the aircraft continued its descent toward the runway threshold, the pilot realized that the rotating beacon was actually mounted on a vehicle located near the airfield. This sudden realization caused significant distraction. The pilot reported that he immediately initiated a go-around maneuver to abort the landing. However, during this transition, he noted that the aircraft descended slightly lower than intended before he made the decision to commit to the landing instead.
The aircraft touched down on the turf located on the left side of the runway rather than on the paved surface. Upon impact with the uneven terrain, the aircraft flipped over. It eventually came to rest in a trench that ran parallel to and immediately adjacent to the runway.