Incident Overview
A student pilot took an airplane for a flight without authorization from the organization that rented the aircraft. The pilot had received a solo endorsement 126 days earlier, but his last recorded flight was on August 30, 1993, and he was not current with the organization's requirements. According to the owners of the operation, the flight was unauthorized, and no one knew that the pilot was going to fly.
Sequence of Events
During the flight, the student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings at night. While making a crosswind turn to the downwind leg, the airplane descended into the ground at a steep angle. The crosswind leg was over a dark, unlit area, which may have contributed to the pilot's loss of situational awareness.
Background
The student pilot had not flown for over three months prior to the incident. The solo endorsement required him to maintain recent flight experience, but he did not comply with those requirements. The organization that rented the airplanes had established rules for solo flight, which the pilot did not follow.
Investigation
The investigation determined that the flight was not authorized and that the pilot was not current. No other details about the aircraft or pilot were released.