Accident Overview
A private pilot, holding an instrument rating and totaling 785 flight hours, was conducting a night visual approach to a runway lacking visual approach glide slope indicator lights. The airplane collided with electrical wires, trees, and the ground.
Witness Observations
A witness located 2.82 miles south of the accident site reported that it was dark, the wind was calm, and the sky was clear. The witness observed the airplane in flight overhead at a "high speed" and an altitude of about 500 feet above ground level. The airplane's navigational lights were illuminated, and the engine sounded "normal" and was "loud." A resident who went outside saw flames and called 911.
Impact and Electrical Service
Local authorities reported that electrical service to nearby residences was interrupted coincident with the accident time. Evidence at the accident site revealed that the airplane initially struck two 40-foot-high electrical lines that were perpendicular to the flight path. The electrical lines were found separated and lying on the ground near their support poles.
Mechanical Examination
No mechanical anomalies were found that would have contributed to the accident.
Post-Accident Visibility Test
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge conducted a test to assess whether the pilot could have seen the runway from the point of initial wire impact. Several days after the accident, under similar dark night light conditions, a fire ladder truck elevated a fireman to the height of the airplane's initial impact with the wires. At 40 feet, the runway was clearly visible. Several firemen climbed the ladder and stated that when looking straight out toward the runway, they thought they were about 150–200 feet above the ground. There were no lights between the accident site and the runway, and the terrain sloped down and then back up to the runway threshold. The sensation was that there appeared to be a "black hole" type of effect when looking straight out from the accident site toward the runway threshold. There was no discernable horizon.
Pilot Experience
A review of the pilot's logbook revealed that the pilot had never been to the accident airport.