The cross country flight departed without a flight plan, and the airplane was found destroyed in an agricultural field located in a sparely populated area. Night visual and instrument meteorological conditions were reported between the flight's departure and destination airports. A weather briefing was given to a caller representing the accident airplane in which the caller did not specifically request and was not provided with a standard weather briefing for the flight. Weather briefing information provided by the flight service station briefer indicated visual flight rule conditions. The briefer did not provide available weather forecast and present weather information that would have depicted instrument meteorological conditions in southwestern Kansas. Witnesses in the area reported observing instrument meteorological conditions in the accident site vicinity. According to the operator of the accident airplane, the pilot had not flown instruments for about three years and did not have more than 20 hours of actual instrument flight time. No mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

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