What happened
During a night flight at an uncontrolled airport, the pilot was executing a left-hand traffic pattern under moonless conditions. Observers noted the aircraft type performing a left descending turn. As the flight progressed onto the base leg, the aircraft experienced a sudden and significant increase in left bank angle. This maneuver resulted in a rapid descent, leading to a collision with level desert ground approximately 1.63 nm from the threshold of runway 30. There were no lights available on the ground to provide visual references for the terrain.
The wreckage of the aircraft was spread across a path measuring 617 feet, oriented between a bearing of 307 and 310 degrees. The impact site was located 319 degrees from the runway threshold. Physical evidence at the site, including fragments of the left propeller spinner and the left navigation light lens, indicated the aircraft struck the ground in a nose-low attitude with the left wing leading the impact.
Findings
Post-accident inspections of the engines, propellers, control systems, and airframe structure showed no signs of mechanical failure or malfunction prior to the impact. Evidence found on the engines and propellers was consistent with the engines being producing power at the time of the crash.
Investigation into the pilot's experience revealed that while the pilot was familiar with the local area, they had only 52 total hours of logged time in the aircraft type, with only 1.6 hours of that experience occurring at night. Furthermore, the pilot had completed only two night landings in the 90 days prior to the accident. There was no evidence of impairment found in the recorded air traffic control communications.