Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hammondsport, New York 14840
Tuesady, July 24, 2007 4:07 EDT

The non-instrument rated pilot had accumulated 99 total hours of flight experience, with 50 of those hours having been logged 13 years prior to the accident. The pilot logged 3.2 total hours of flight experience at night, and his private pilot certificate was issued with a limitation prohibiting night flight. The accident flight was a 528 nautical mile cross-country trip, which began about 2000. The pilot departed from his first and second intended fuel stops at 2340 and 0300, respectively. An airmen's meteorological information (AIRMET) issued at 2245 warned of instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and mountain obscuration along the latter segment of the intended route of flight. IMC was consistently reported at the planned final destination from the time of the initial departure until the accident. Witnesses reported that mist, rain, and darkness prevailed at the accident site at the time of the accident. Review of information extracted from a handheld global positioning system unit recovered from the wreckage revealed that the pilot entered a left 360-degree turn, followed by a descending right 360-degree turn, which continued until the airplane impacted terrain. The final flight path was consistent with an entry into IMC, and the subsequent loss of control due to spatial disorientation.

The pilot's inadequate in flight decision and failure to maintain aircraft control during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident were inadequate preflight planning, dark night and poor weather conditions.