Accident Summary
At night, under overcast skies, a non-instrument rated private pilot departed from a private airstrip in a single-engine airplane for an airport 29 nautical miles away. The pilot frequently used the airplane to commute to work. The accident occurred in a sparsely populated area lacking visual cues at night. The airplane impacted a level cultivated field while in a nose-down attitude and in a left turn, approximately 2 nautical miles north-northeast (021 degrees) from the departure point.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate but was not instrument rated. He had accumulated 254 total flight hours, with 51 hours in the same make and model of airplane, 17.5 hours of night flight, and 2.5 hours of simulated instrument time.
Accident Sequence
Radar data showed the airplane departing from the coordinates of the home landing strip and tracking a course toward the intended destination, bearing north-northwest, at altitudes between 4,100 and 4,800 feet mean sea level (MSL). The data then indicated the airplane entered a left turn, bearing approximately west, for about 10 seconds before radar returns ended abruptly. The accident site was located about one-half mile north of the last radar return. The radar data did not show a gradual descent; the final return placed the airplane at 4,700 feet MSL. No distress call was recorded. The cloud ceiling at the time was reported as 1,600 feet overcast, and the terrain elevation was 3,700 feet MSL.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane struck a level cultivated field in a nose-down attitude. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that could have contributed to the accident.