Very strange series of events. It would be interesting to see if there was a CVR/FDR element.......the only way I think we would get an insight into the events.
My suspicion is that even if we did have those things, they wouldn't tell us much, except that the machine was working OK, and the NTSB will likely conclude that from the recovered pieces.
The thing that bothers me is that it sounds just like a typical accident of a low-time pilot, esp. one with limited night experience. Yet, this guy had
tons of experience, much of it military, per the above links.
The thing that comes to my mind, is that perhaps he had
too much experience, to the point where he might have felt invincible, or was at least very complacent.
I know that with my limited hours I'd be climbing vertically out of any "black hole", with or without landing lights -- just the fear of invisible wires would do it for me. Does one lose that fear factor over time, to the point of becoming dangerous?
I am not saying this guy did anything wrong, and it may turn out there was some mechanical or medical issue yet to be discovered, but the generic question remains.
DR