Pre-Flight Weather Briefings
The pilot received two standard weather briefings for a planned VFR flight from Houston, Texas, to Arlington, Texas. Both briefers informed the pilot that VFR flight was not recommended near Arlington, but VFR flight would be possible to Waco, Texas. The pilot stated during both briefings that he needed to try to make it to Arlington. The flight departed Houston and diverted to College Station, Texas, due to weather.
Ground Delay in College Station
The flight remained on the ground in College Station for eight hours, during which the pilot received three additional weather briefings. The briefers attempted to discourage the pilot from attempting the flight due to the en route weather. The pilot again indicated a need to reach his destination by the following morning and subsequently filed an IFR flight plan.
Departure and Vacuum Pump Failure
The flight departed into dark night instrument meteorological conditions. Seventeen minutes later, the pilot reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the vacuum pump had failed. ATC provided the pilot with radar vectors back to the airport, during which the pilot indicated he was having trouble maintaining heading and altitude.
No Gyro Approach and Loss of Radar Contact
ATC commenced a no gyro approach with the pilot. Seven minutes later, the airplane disappeared from radar. Search and rescue was initiated, and the airplane was located in a pasture.
Accident Site and Aircraft Examination
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted the ground in a near vertical nose down attitude. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would prevent normal operation of the aircraft. The vacuum pump drive shaft was found intact. Rotational scoring was found on components of the attitude indicator, heading indicator, and turn and slip indicator.
Pilot Experience
The pilot was issued an instrument rating on August 18, 2000. He had accumulated a total of 30.4 hours of simulated instrument flight time and 2.5 hours of actual instrument flight time.