What happened
The pilot departed on a night cross-country flight without filing a flight plan or obtaining a weather briefing. Upon arriving near the destination airport, the weather conditions consisted of mist and 2 statute miles of visibility, with an overcast cloud layer at 100 feet.
The pilot requested instrument flight rules clearance from the approach controller and was vectored for the ILS 24 approach. This clearance included a restriction to maintain 1,500 feet MSL until established on the localizer. When the pilot contacted the tower, the controller issued a low altitude alert. The pilot responded that he was climbing, after which the tower controller cleared the aircraft to land. The pilot acknowledged the clearance, but no further radio transmissions were received.
The airplane came to rest in a wooded area approximately 3/4-mile from the runway threshold and about 50 feet to the right of the extended centerline.
The investigation
An examination of the ILS 24 approach plate showed that the minimum glide slope intercept altitude at the start of the final approach segment was 1,500 feet. For a non-precision approach, the altitude at the final approach fix (4 miles from the runway end) was 1,407 feet, and the altitude at the middle marker (0.6 miles from the runway end) was 299 feet.
Radar data analysis indicated that the aircraft was observed at an altitude of 700 feet approximately 4 miles from the airport, and at 300 feet approximately 1.5 miles from the airport.
The pilot had a total of 1,946 flight hours, including 252 hours in the make and model. While the pilot had attended initial and recurrent training for the aircraft type, the training was not completed.