What happened
A witness observed an airplane in flight immediately preceding the accident. The aircraft was seen flying from south to north at a very low altitude before it disappeared from view. Approximately one minute later, the same witness observed the airplane traveling in a westbound direction until it disappeared behind a line of trees.
At the time of the event, weather conditions were reported as very rainy and windy, characterized by very bad visibility. Meteorological observations from the Flight Service Station at Terre Haute, Indiana, recorded at 1745 EST on November 2, 1997, indicated rain showers with a broken ceiling at 3,300 feet AGL and an overcast ceiling at 5,000 feet AGL.
Findings
The pilot was not instrument rated and had no recorded flight time in actual instrument meteorological conditions.