PIPER PA-28RT-201 — North Myrtle Beach, SC

What happened

The private pilot held an instrument rating, but lacked recent instrument or night experience. He flew the airplane to a coastal airport uneventfully and subsequently left a message with the operator that he would be returning later than anticipated because he was waiting for convective weather to clear. The pilot received a standard weather briefing from flight service personnel for an instrument flight rules return flight. The weather briefer advised of a convective sigmet along the coast, with the largest cell just west of the departure airport. The briefer recommended either a northeast departure or a southwest departure, to remain clear of the large cell, before flying west on-course to the destination airport. Review of radar data revealed that convective weather, with associated strong intensity echoes, was present about 12 miles west of the departure airport. After takeoff, the airplane turned left about 180 degrees and proceeded northeast along the coast. The radar track then varied between north and northeast until about 5 minutes after takeoff, when the airplane reach a height of 2,300 feet mean sea level and began a right descending turn. The last radar target was recorded about 5 miles northeast of the departure airport, indicating an altitude of 1,800 feet. The recorded weather at the departure airport included a broken ceiling at 1,100 feet, overcast ceiling at 2,000 feet, and a remark of distant lightning west of the airport. Although the official end of civil twilight occurred 1 minute after the accident, the combination of a dark dusk sky, multiple cloud ceilings, precipitation, and the distraction of maneuvering around a large convective cell, would have been challenging for a pilot with limited recent actual instrument experience.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.