Accident Summary
The airplane, registration N235LA, was destroyed on impact with objects and terrain during initial climb from Benton Airport (H96), Illinois. A post-impact on-ground fire occurred. Rain began falling after the accident.
Weather Briefing
A person representing N235LA contacted flight service for a weather update between Benton (H96) and Terre Haute, Indiana. During the briefing, the person stated, "Yeah, you know it looks much better standing on the ground than flying around in it." The briefer responded, "okay, well, that could make a difference because if you're in benton, there's nothing between you and terre haute however if you're a hundred miles, if you're in one hotel two which is uhm, uh, where i have a kind of suspicion you may be ... yeah, and there is a little bit of a thunderstorm west of you about twenty miles, do you see buildups to the west? ... yeah, i have a suspicion you're actually at effingham ... uh, those thunderstorms to the west of you is the only thing even vaguely close to your route of flight."
Witness Accounts
A witness observed the airplane taking off to the north from H96. She demonstrated the angle of climb at about 45 degrees. She stated she heard what she thought was thunder, saw smoke, and called 911. Two other witnesses reported hearing two loud claps of thunder and seeing lightning strike in the vicinity of the airport. After the second clap, they saw smoke coming from the boat factory. They described the whole northern sky as black and reported hearing thunder. They did not see the airplane strike the ground.
Investigation
An on-scene investigation was conducted and no pre-impact anomalies were found. Subsequent to the accident, the weather briefer was decertified, given additional training, and reinstated.