Background
The flight was operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), and the pilot was not instrument rated. The flight was en route to Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) in Florida.
Flight Sequence
At 2332, Jacksonville Center advised the pilot that another flight had to fly an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach at Gainesville due to low visibility. At 0008, the pilot reported to the Gainesville Flight Service Station (FSS) that she had the runway lights in sight. The flight then circled the airport and proceeded northeast.
The flight was last seen on radar 3 miles northeast of the airport at an altitude of 1,300 feet. The wreckage was subsequently found 5 miles northeast of the airport. The aircraft had crashed into the ground left wing first in a near 90-degree bank while on a 180-degree heading.
Weather Conditions
A weather observation taken 20 minutes before the accident indicated that the airport was in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) conditions due to a 600-foot broken ceiling. The weather observer did not relay this information to the GNV FSS in-flight specialist or the Jacksonville Center controller. Consequently, the pilot was not told of this weather report.
Communication and Shift Change
A shift change occurred as the flight arrived at Gainesville. The relief FSS in-flight specialist did not receive a briefing nor did he check the weather. He also did not know that the airport was IFR before talking to the flight.
Wreckage
The wreckage was located 5 miles northeast of the airport. The aircraft impacted the ground in a left-wing-first orientation with a near 90-degree bank angle, while on a heading of 180 degrees.