ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 25832
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| Date: | Sunday 16 February 2003 |
| Time: | 20:02 |
| Type: |  Cessna 421 |
| Owner/operator: | Great Northern Aircraft |
| Registration: | N421TJ |
| MSN: | 421-0051 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1968 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4129 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental GTSIO-520-C |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Somerset, KY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Griffith-Merril, IN (05C) |
| Somerset, KY (SME) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane joined the inbound course for the GPS instrument approach between the intermediate approach fix and the final approach fix, and maintained an altitude about 200 feet below the sector minimum. The last radar return revealed the airplane to be about 3/4 nautical miles beyond the final approach fix, approximately 1,000 feet left of course centerline. An initial tree strike was found about 1 nautical mile before the missed approach point, about 700 feet left of course centerline, at an elevation about 480 feet below the minimum decent altitude. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying at a "very low altitude" just prior to its impact with hilly terrain, and also described the sound of the airplane's engines as "really loud" and "a constant roar." Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. There was no evidence of mechanical malfunction.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to follow the instrument approach procedure, which resulted in an early descent into trees and terrain. Factors included the low ceiling and the night lighting conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20030227X00263&key=1
Air International APR 2003
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:14 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 08-Dec-2017 18:03 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Jan-2021 14:30 | TB | Updated [Operator, Phase, Source] |
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