Accident Overview
A night cross-country flight involving three aircraft ended in an accident when the last aircraft struck a large pine tree and crashed in a steep inverted nose-down attitude. The accident occurred near the destination airport, which was situated in hilly terrain.
Weather Conditions
As the three aircraft approached the airport, they encountered broken to overcast cloud cover at approximately 400 feet AGL and visibility of 2 miles in rain. The first two aircraft landed safely under these conditions.
Sequence of Events
The pilot of the accident aircraft initiated a go-around, stating via radio that he had "lost sight of the runway after entering a cloud." Subsequently, he radioed that he was in the clouds and then remarked, "There's the moon." He further informed the other pilots that he intended to proceed to a nearby airport to wait for better weather.
Ground witnesses heard the aircraft circling several times in the vicinity of the accident site before hearing sounds of impact.
Wreckage Examination
Examination of the accident site revealed that the aircraft's right wing struck a large pine tree near its top. The aircraft then collided with the ground in a steep inverted nose-down attitude. The extended wreckage bearing was aligned with the destination airport, which was 8 miles away.