What happened
On the day of the accident, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the area of Sylvania, Georgia, characterized by fog and poor visibility. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, and the pilot was not instrument rated. A witness near the accident site reported seeing the aircraft strike a Comcast television tower, after which debris began falling from the plane. The witness observed the aircraft crossing a road before it nose-dived into the ground and exploded.
Local authorities arriving at the scene confirmed that visibility was extremely poor due to heavy fog. At 1202Z, the nearest weather station at Bulloch County Airport in Statesboro, Georgia, reported winds from 110 degrees at 4 knots, with 4 statute miles of visibility and an overcast ceiling at 600 feet. Weather charts for the Sylvania area at 1600Z indicated instrument weather conditions with ceilings below 1,000 feet and visibility less than 3 miles.
The investigation
Wreckage was located in a wooded, grassy area near the tower. Examination of the propeller revealed that one blade had leading edge saw-tooth nicks and gouges and was bent and twisted aft approximately 50 degrees, while the other blade was bent aft approximately 70 degrees from the hub. Investigators also examined the right wing assembly, finding a two-foot-wide section of the wing separated into two pieces near the base of the tower. This separation area extended uniformly from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing and through a two-foot section of the aileron.