What happened
A private pilot, who was not instrument rated, departed on a night cross-country flight without obtaining a prior weather briefing. While cruising at 13,500 feet and receiving traffic advisories from Air Route Traffic Control Center, the pilot noted that weather conditions were deteriorating. Upon requesting weather information for the intended destination, the pilot decided to deviate from the original flight plan to land at a nearby airport.
Following a VFR radar handoff, the pilot began a descent toward the revised destination. Approach Control provided the pilot with the distance and direction to the airport and instructed the pilot to report the airport in sight. However, the aircraft impacted a cultivated field approximately 1.5 miles west of the airport. At the time of the accident, the ceiling was obscured by fog, with reported visibility of only a quarter of a mile.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's altimeter following the crash. Although the pilot stated that the altimeter had malfunctioned, investigators found that the instrument was reading 411 feet higher than the true altitude.