FTW94LA075

The non-instrument rated private pilot departed on a night cross country flight without obtaining a weather briefing. While in cruise flight at 13,500 feet, while receiving traffic advisories from center, the weather deteriorated and the pilot requested the weather for his destination airport. Center gave the pilot the requested weather and the pilot elected to deviate from his plan and land at a nearby airport. A VFR radar handoff was completed and the pilot initiated his descent to his revised destination. Approach control gave the pilot the distance and direction to the airport, and told him to report the airport in sight. The airplane impacted in a cultivated field a mile and a half west of the airport. The ceiling was obscured with a reported visibility of a quarter of a mile in fog. The pilot stated that the altimeter had malfunctioned; however, the altimeter was found reading 411 feet higher than the true altitude.

On January 25, 1994, at 2330 central standard time, a Cessna T-210J, was substantially damaged during approach to the Hobart Municipal Airport, near Hobart, Oklahoma. The non-instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were seriously injured. Dark night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area for the personal flight.

No flight plan was filed, nor a weather briefing obtained for the night cross country flight.

According to Fort Worth Center, they were contacted by the pilot at 2257, over Hollis, Oklahoma, requesting traffic advisories and the latest weather for Fayetteville, Arkansas. The pilot was informed that the latest report showed a measured two thousand foot overcast with twelve miles visibility.

The pilot stated that he was going to deviate to Hobart, Oklahoma, to further evaluate the weather. A VFR handoff to Altus Approach Control was completed at 2305. Altus Approach terminated radar services with the airplane at 2319, while the airplane was at 4,000 feet.

In the enclosed NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated that he thought that he had seen the beacon from the Hobart Airport at his eleven o'clock position while he was at 4,000 feet. He further stated that he told his passenger that he would not descend below 4,000 feet until he had the airport in sight. The pilot added that he had no other recollections of the flight until the point where he climbed out of the wreckage.

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) trooper responded to the scene of the accident the next morning at 0700, after the pilot walked 2.5 miles to a nearby house for help. The OHP trooper later reported, and included in his report, that the pilot stated that "he came off the oxygen too soon and probably blacked-out." The pilot later denied making such a statement to any law enforcement agency.

The wreckage was found in a cultivated field approximately a mile and a half west of the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector at the scene stated that "after sliding for nearly 200 feet on a measured heading of 066 degrees, the airplane came to rest on an easterly heading with the left wing partially separated from the fuselage." He added that the engine was found 264 feet forward of the resting place of the main wreckage. The propeller was found separated from the propeller flange, and all three blades exhibited "S" type bending and striations. The landing gear and flaps were found in the retracted position.

In a telephone interview with the investigator in charge, the pilot stated that the altimeter had malfunctioned during the approach. The altimeter was found to have been set at the proper setting (29.88") and reading 1,975 feet. Airport elevation was 1,564 feet.

The 2250 observation from the Hobart Municipal Airport (HBR) Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) reported a ceiling of 100 foot obscured, with a quarter of a mile visibility, with fog and drizzle.