The crash of a small plane that killed a Georgia pilot after it struck a house last year in Broward County most likely happened because he lost control of the aircraft, federal investigators ruled.

Gerald Ballard, a home builder from Gainesville, Ga., was killed in January 2005 when his Cirrus SR22 crashed into a house and burst into flames in Coconut Creek.

The 58-year-old had departed from Fort Lauderdale and was traveling to Naples.

The probable cause of the crash was from ''the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent to the ground,'' according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

''Factors included an avionics failure, pilot disorientation and instrument meteorological conditions. A factor in the severity of the impact was the pilot's failure to deploy the airplane's onboard parachute system,'' the report said.

According to the NTSB report, the plane, registered with his company -- Jerry Ballard Homes Inc. of Fayetteville, Ga. -- descended 1,500 feet in 12 seconds and then climbed 1,000 feet in the next 12 seconds.

Witnesses said Ballard sounded as if he were performing aerobatics by climbing and descending frequently. One witness said he saw the plane appear from a line of clouds before climbing back into the clouds, the report said.

The plane clipped the roof of a two-story home, heavily damaging it, then crashed into a yard.

Residents tried to put out the fire with garden hoses.

Ballard misinterpreted a series of air traffic control instructions that were intended for another plane, according to a voice communication tape the report cited.

The plane had about 98 hours of operation in the air and had a history of primary flight display failures, the report said.

Ik denk dat je behoorlijk dom bezig bent als je IFR gaat vliegen in een splinternieuwe kist met avionica problemen