What happened
The flight was operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), and the pilot was not instrument rated. During the en route phase, at 2332, Jacksonville Center advised the pilot that another aircraft would be performing an ILS approach at Gainesville (GNV) due to low visibility.
At 0008, the pilot contacted the Gainesville Flight Service Station (FSS) to report that the runway lights were visible. The aircraft circled the airport and then proceeded in a northeast direction. Radar tracking last identified the aircraft 3 miles northeast of the airport at an altitude of 1,300 feet.
The wreckage was subsequently located 5 miles northeast of the airport. The impact occurred with the left wing first into the ground during a near 90-degree bank while the aircraft was on a 180-degree heading.
Findings
A weather observation recorded 20 minutes prior to the accident indicated that the airport had transitioned to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) conditions due to a 600-foot broken ceiling. However, this information was not communicated to the Jacksonville Center controller or the GNV FSS in-flight specialist. The pilot was also not notified of this weather report.
A shift change occurred as the flight arrived at GNV. The relief FSS in-flight specialist did not receive a briefing and failed to check the current weather conditions. Consequently, the relief specialist was unaware that the airport was operating under IFR conditions prior to communicating with the pilot.