Flight Details
A student pilot was near the completion of a cross-country flight, approximately 47 miles from home, with his wife, father, and mother on board. The pilot had requested VFR flight following and was cruising at 6,500 feet.
Communications with ATC
During the flight, the pilot advised air traffic control (ATC) that they had descended to 6,250 feet and needed to descend further to remain in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions. ATC informed the pilot of opposing instrument flight rules (IFR) traffic that had reported being 'in solid' (in solid cloud cover) and requested the VFR flight to delay its descent if possible until the traffic was clear. The pilot agreed but stated, 'well ok, I'm going to be in the clouds.'
Approximately 45 seconds later, the pilot transmitted: 'oh yeah, we're we're in a spin, I'm not sure which way we're goin' here, I've lost it, I'm sorry.'
Accident Sequence
A ground witness reported hearing an engine revving up within the clouds. Looking upward, the witness observed the fuselage, missing its wings and tail, spinning down from the overcast sky. The witness noted that visual meteorological conditions prevailed at ground level.
Aircraft Information
The pilot had owned the aircraft for about two years but had never registered it. No annual inspection had been performed on the aircraft. Neither pilot nor aircraft logbooks were located.