What happened
During a night flight, the crew attempted a visual approach to their destination airport but was unable to land because ground fog had significantly reduced visibility. After the failed approach, the pilot requested vectors to an alternative airfield. Air traffic control informed the pilot that the aircraft was below radar coverage and could not be identified via radar. The pilot subsequently decided to divert to a third airport. ATC provided a heading and instructions to fly directly to that location, advising the pilot to fly over the field in hopes of finding a break in the cloud cover.
While an inbound commercial flight reported instrument meteorological conditions at a parallel runway, the aircraft unexpectedly turned south, moving away from the intended airport. The final radio communication occurred after air traffic control notified the pilot that his current heading was leading him away from the destination, to which the pilot replied that he was correcting the course. The last recorded position of N201RH, a multi-engine aircraft, was 1.95 miles southeast of the airport at an altitude of 500 feet MSL. A passenger in the co-pilot seat reported that the aircraft was in a right turn when they observed trees and subsequently impacted them. The accident resulted in fatalities.
Findings
Investigations into the pilot's credentials revealed that his commercial pilot certificate contained specific limitations, prohibiting him from conducting night flights or cross-country flights exceeding 50 nautical miles for hire. Furthermore, records indicated the pilot lacked an instrument rating. While the pilot had accumulated 1,725.2 total flight hours, including 184.3 hours in multi-engine aircraft, his experience in this specific make and model was 145.6 hours. His logged experience included 487.3 cross-country hours, but only 61.9 hours of night flight and 21.6 hours of simulated instrument flight. The lack of an instrument rating was a significant factor during the period of low visibility.