Provincetown

The pilot was transporting six passengers on a scheduled revenue flight in instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot familiarized himself with the weather conditions before departure and surmised that he would be executing the instrument landing system (ILS) instrument approach for the landing runway at the destination airport. The operator prohibited approaches to runways less than 4,000 ft long if the tailwind component was 5 knots or more. The landing runway was 498 ft shorter than the operator-specified length. The pilot said he obtained the automated weather observing system (AWOS) data at least twice during the flight since he was required to obtain it before starting the instrument approach and then once again before he crossed the approach’s final-approach-fix (FAF). Though the pilot could not recall when he checked the AWOS, he said the conditions were within the airplane and company performance limits and he continued with the approach. A review of the wind data at the time he accepted the approach revealed the tailwind component was within limitations. As the airplane approached the FAF, wind speed increased, and the tailwind component ranged between 1 and 7 knots. Since the exact time the pilot checked the AWOS is unknown, it is possible that he obtained an observation when the tailwind component was within operator limits; however, between the time that the airplane crossed over the FAF and the time it landed, the tailwind component increased above 5 knots. The pilot said the approach was normal until he encountered a strong downdraft when the airplane was about 50 to 100 ft above the ground. He said that the approach became unstabilized and that he immediately executed a go-around; the airplane touched down briefly before becoming airborne again. The pilot said he was unable to establish a positive rate of climb and the airplane impacted trees off the end of the runway. The accident was captured on three airport surveillance cameras. A study of the video data revealed the airplane made a normal landing and touched down about 500 ft from the beginning of the runway. It was raining heavily at the time. The airplane rolled down the runway for about 21 seconds, and then took off again. The airplane entered a shallow climb, collided with trees, and caught on fire. All seven occupants were seriously injured and the airplane was destroyed.

During arrival, the flight was cleared for an ILS/DME approach to runway 27. While on the approach, the aircraft crashed in the ocean about 2.7 miles east of the runway threshold. The pilot reported that he was making the approach, using instruments, and landed short for unknown reasons. He received a serious head injury, but was rescued by fishermen who heard the aircraft crash and went to where they heard the voices of the victims in the fog. The 0835 weather at Boston was in part: partial obscuration, 25,000 feet overcast, 4 miles visibility with fog and haze, wind from 140° at 7 knots. Other pilots reported low ceilings and a fog bank in the vicinity of the crash site. The captain survived while the copilot died.

While approaching Marshfield Airport from the northeast, the right engine failed. The pilot increased power on the left engine but as he was unable to maintain a safe altitude, he ditched the aircraft off Humarock. All 14 occupants were quickly rescued while the aircraft later came to rest onto the beach and was damaged beyond repair.