Overview
An airplane crashed at high speed in a slight descent, impacting terrain one mile west of the departure airport, near the location where the normal downwind leg would have been. The pilot was observed during takeoff but was not seen again until the wreckage was discovered.
Flight Profile
According to information about the pilot, he typically performed several touch-and-go landings before departing the local area. He was known to avoid flying near clouds or at night. For this flight, the ceiling was at least 1,000 feet at the time of takeoff and at least 700 feet in the accident area.
Accident Sequence
The airplane was seen at takeoff, but subsequently, there was no further observation until the wreckage was found. The airplane struck the ground at high speed while in a slight descent. The impact location was one mile west of the departure airport, in proximity to where a standard downwind leg would be flown.
Investigation
No probable cause has been stated in the available source material.