ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 17024
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| Date: | Saturday 26 March 2005 |
| Time: | 13:48 |
| Type: |  Pilatus PC-12/45 |
| Owner/operator: | J2W Aviation LLC |
| Registration: | N770G |
| MSN: | 299 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2000 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1523 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6A-67B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Bellefonte, PA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Naples Airport, FL (APF/KAPF) |
| State College-University Park Airport, PA (SCE/KUNV) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On March 26, 2005, at 1348 eastern standard time, a Pilatus PC-12/45, N770G, was destroyed when it impacted the ground near Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot and five passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site; however, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the altitude where the accident sequence began. The airplane was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan, and departed Naples Municipal Airport (APF), Naples, Florida, about 0953, destined for University Park Airport (UNV), State College, Pennsylvania. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The accident airplane was on an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to land, when witnesses reported seeing it spinning in a nose down, near vertical attitude before it collided with the ground. The accident site was about 3 miles from the approach end of the intended runway. A review of radar data disclosed that the private pilot had difficulty maintaining altitude and airspeed while on final approach, with significant excursions above and below the glidepath, as well as large variations in airspeed. Interviews with other pilots in the area just prior to and after the accident revealed that icing conditions existed in clouds near the airport, although first responders to the accident site indicated that there was no ice on the airplane. Postaccident inspection of the airplane, its engine and flight navigation systems, discovered no evidence of preimpact anomalies. An analysis of the airplane's navigation system's light bulbs, suggests that the pilot had selected the GPS mode for the initial approach, but had not switched to the proper instrument approach mode to allow the autopilot to lock onto the ILS.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed to avoid a stall during an instrument final approach to land, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Factors associated with the accident are the inadvertent stall/spin, the pilot's failure to follow procedures/directives, and clouds.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20050331X00387&key=1
Location
Images:
(c) by Hey Paul, March 26, 2005
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Apr-2008 12:18 | harro | Added |
| 02-Apr-2008 12:34 | harro | Updated |
| 08-Mar-2009 04:52 | Topaz | Updated |
| 03-Feb-2010 23:36 | TB | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:13 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 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] |
| 06-Dec-2017 08:00 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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