What happened
The pilot departed Dalhart Municipal Airport in Dalhart, Texas, on a night cross-country flight bound for Quemedo, New Mexico. The flight plan was not filed with air traffic control. During the en route portion of the trip, the pilot made an unscheduled stop at Hereford, Texas, to pick up a friend who served as a passenger.
After departing Hereford, the aircraft disappeared from radar coverage just west of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Search and rescue personnel located the wreckage in that vicinity. The impact forces were severe enough to destroy the aircraft completely. Both the pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries in the crash.