Flight and Weather Conditions
The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight in preparation for a checkride scheduled for August 20, 2001. The first leg, from Kissimmee to Brooksville, was uneventful. After departing for the second leg, the cloud base decreased, prompting the pilot to fly at a lower altitude. As the flight neared the destination, weather conditions worsened, and the airplane encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The pilot elected to continue flying in IMC because a thunderstorm was located behind the airplane. He then turned to exit the IMC but momentarily lost control of the airplane. After recovering, he descended to just above the treetops, then climbed back into IMC to get on top of the cloud layer. He descended again and reversed course to backtrack. The pilot was unable to locate landmarks and made "Pan" calls on frequency 121.5 but did not receive assistance from air traffic control.
Landing and Collision
With a thunderstorm moving from west to east, the pilot decided to land in a field. He flew a downwind, base, and final leg, then touched down in the field. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a fence, causing the nose landing gear to collapse. The pilot secured the airplane and waited for assistance.
Post-Accident Examination
According to the Operations Manager for the operator, examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane touched down in a first field and rolled approximately 1,000 feet before colliding with a barbed wire fence. During recovery, each fuel tank contained more than 5 gallons of fuel, with the left wing tank having slightly less fuel than the right.