What happened
Approximately 18 miles north of the airfield, air traffic control identified the aircraft on radar and provided vectors for a right-hand downwind and base leg toward runway 36R. While flying a heading of 150 degrees on the downwind leg, the pilot received a new heading assignment of 270 degrees. When asked if the airport was visible, the pilot confirmed that it was in sight.
Despite this confirmation, radar tracking indicated that the aircraft type continued its turn past the assigned 270-degree heading, reaching approximately 350 degrees. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft initiated a left turn to a heading of 250 degrees while descending. The flight path followed a southwest trajectory, aligning with a local street located south of the airport. As the aircraft descended at a steady rate, it reached an altitude of 900 feet before radar contact was lost. The wreckage was found distributed along a 245-degree heading.
Findings
An inspection of the runway 36R edge lights conducted during nighttime VFR conditions revealed that the lighting was not visible at angles greater than 30 degrees from the runway centerline. The official investigation concluded that the reason for the in-flight collision with terrain remained undetermined.