Flight Planning
According to the student pilot/owner, initial weather check two hours before takeoff indicated the intended route was cloudy but reporting visual meteorological conditions. After arriving at the airport, the pilot checked weather again and decided to fly southeast before proceeding direct to the destination through better conditions.
Flight and Weather
After takeoff, the student pilot requested flight following and informed an air traffic controller of the intended route. The controller advised of possible rain en route and recommended modifying the route to proceed direct to destination. The pilot accepted this advice. The first 45 minutes of flight were described as fine, but weather then worsened. The pilot flew into clouds briefly twice, maneuvering back to visual conditions each time. The pilot then asked ATC for advice, but all suggestions yielded no relief. Shortly after, the pilot declared an emergency and decided to make an emergency landing in a field.
Emergency Landing
The pilot "dropped the plane down on the mains as firmly as possible, and [it] bounced and went airborne again." The airplane traveled down the field, hit the top of a fence, and continued up a hill where it came to rest. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and right wing root.
Pilot and Aircraft
The student pilot reported 170 hours of total flight time. No mechanical anomalies were reported. Weather at an airport about 15 miles east, near the time of the accident, included broken clouds at 500 feet and 900 feet, overcast at 1,400 feet, and light rain.