Incident Overview
Ground witnesses reported observing an airplane maneuvering in the vicinity of an airport. They saw the airplane line up with a road located south of and almost parallel to the runway at the destination airport. The airplane made a descent as if approaching to land, then climbed out and circled around to line up with the road again.
Witness Observations
According to the witnesses, the airplane entered a steep left bank, estimated at 90 degrees, then stalled and fell to the ground.
ATC Communication
Review of air traffic control (ATC) tapes and transcripts revealed that the pilot had received radar assistance to his destination airport. Approximately 6 minutes before the crash, the 69-year-old pilot stated, "I think I got it now... ah, there's a couple of cars on the runway... is that the runway there on my left?" ATC repeated the runway information, informed the pilot that they had no control over the cars, and approved a frequency change.