NTSB Probable Cause

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE AFTER BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTED. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, LOW OVERCAST CLOUD CONDITION, THE PILOT'S DECISION TO CONTINUE VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), WHICH RESULTED IN A NEAR COLLISION WITH ANOTHER AIRCRAFT, HIS SELF INDUCED PRESSURE AND DIVERSION OF ATTENTION, WHILE COPING WITH THE SITUATION THAT HE HAD ENCOUNTERED.