He collided with terrain at about 3300ft above aerodrome elevation, i.e. between the scattered and the broken layer according to the METARs.
The information that he didn't hold an IR is from his public FAA record. He could have held a JAR IR which would give him the knowledge to fly in IMC but not the legal capability to do so on an N-reg.
Last edited by achimha; 1st Oct 2012 at 07:56.