Accident Overview
A twin-engine airplane crashed near Giddings, Texas, after striking tree tops during a night flight from Austin to Houston. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces, and both occupants sustained fatal injuries.
Circumstances
The pilot encountered poor weather conditions en route and decided to continue the flight. Subsequently, the airplane struck tree tops and crashed. The official investigation identified that the pilot continued visual flight rules (VFR) flight into adverse weather conditions, including a low ceiling, fog, and thunderstorm activity. The aircraft also collided with high obstructions.
Probable Cause and Contributing Factors
The probable cause of the accident was determined to be a collision with trees during normal cruise flight, resulting from improper in-flight decisions by the pilot. Contributing factors included: continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions, high obstructions, low ceiling, fog, thunderstorm activity, and the pilot flying into known poor weather conditions.