[PilotDave]

He was flying a Piper Malibu. A high performance 6 seat complex single engine aircraft. He was attempting an instrument approach in low clouds and visibility at night. He had gone missed approach on his first attempt and was on his second try when he hit the ground hard about a mile short of the runway.
This is a fairly typical accident scenario in general aviation. Sometimes called: Get there-itis. A highly successful person gets their license, buys a plane and really wants to be somewhere on schedule. So they fly in conditions that they shouldn’t.

[bigbob]

I suspect you’re very close to what happened, and it’s a sad outcome.

[Madame Dufarge]

A highly successful person gets their license, buys a plane and really wants to be somewhere on schedule. So they fly in conditions that they shouldn’t.

That was pretty much what happened to JFK Jr., as I recall.

[ScottinVA]

A highly successful person gets their license, buys a plane and really wants to be somewhere on schedule. So they fly in conditions that they shouldn’t.

JFK Jr. comes to mind...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I think I have heard that MDs are highly susceptible to it.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Nice aircraft.

Sad.

As Harry Callahan once said, "A man has got to know his limitations."

[austinaero]

New IFR rating?
Conditions are conditions, you know, IFR is meant to address just that.

Here’s a few things I follow:

1. No hard IFR without redundant vacuum and possible redundant gyros
2. Enough fuel to fly to VFR conditions.
3. Don’t do a second approach after missed approach. Go somewhere better.
4. Don’t let ‘getting there’ be part of the problem.
5. Don’t fly where slow air masses meet low pressure systems.

Seems like you are mentioning #4 and I think #3 is also in play. There’s a reason the first approach was missed....sorry to hear the news.