Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors related to this accident was night conditions, the pilot's lack of night experience, and the pilot becoming lost and disoriented.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The airplane was seen with the landing light on circling and flying at a low altitude over a corn field and a tree line about 2 miles from the destination airport. The airplane impacted the ground in a nose low attitude and the complete airplane was confined to area of 30 by 30 feet. There was no evidence of any of the trees in the area being damaged nor was there a swath in the corn field. The accident occurred during the hours of darkness. Examination of the pilot's log book revealed that the pilot was issues his private pilot certificate in 1966 and had logged a total of 434 flight hours, 26 of which were night flight hours. No night flight hours were recorded in the 15 months prior to the accident.
Source record
Factual narrative
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