Flight History
The airplane was on the second leg of an IFR cross-country flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Emporia, Kansas, with an intermediate stop at Farmington, New Mexico. Upon contacting Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), the pilot was informed that Emporia weather was 10 miles visibility with an overcast ceiling of 600 feet above ground level (agl). At 1951 central daylight time (cdt), Kansas City ARTCC cleared the pilot for the VOR approach into Emporia Municipal Airport. At 2002 cdt, the pilot reported that he was on the missed approach. The pilot then requested another VOR approach. Kansas City ARTCC cleared the pilot for the approach and instructed him to report 'established' on the approach. At 2014 cdt, the pilot reported that he was established inbound on the VOR approach. Kansas City ARTCC then instructed the pilot to 'go over to advisory [frequency] and report cancellation on this frequency.' The pilot responded, 'Okay, we'll go ahead and cancel IFR right now.' The airplane impacted the terrain near Emporia Airport at 2017 cdt.
Weather Conditions
At the time of the accident, weather conditions at Emporia were reported as marginal. A pilot who had departed Emporia Airport at approximately 2000 cdt described the weather as having a ceiling of around 700 feet agl and visibility of 6 to 7 miles.
Pilot Information
The pilot's logbook showed he had 44.1 hours of actual instrument time.
Aircraft Examination
Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.