What happened
The pilot and his passenger departed on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan, proceeding eastbound. Prior to the flight, the pilot's wife had sustained an injury that required medical treatment and hospital release.
As the aircraft approached the destination airport, the pilot could observe the entire island and the airport itself. However, due to widely scattered, low ground fog in the area, the pilot filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan with a Flight Service Station. During the ILS approach, the pilot observed a patch of ground fog surrounding the approach lights, though the runway surface and lights remained visible.
The pilot performed an early descent, causing the right main landing gear to strike an approach light stanchion. The impact sheared the gear assembly off the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently touched down on the runway, slid approximately 200 feet, and came to a stop where a fire broke out. There were no fatalities reported in the accident.
The investigation
An inspection of the instrument landing system conducted the day after the accident revealed no mechanical or operational anomalies with the system.