Mountains

On October 24, 2004, about 1235 eastern daylight time (all times in this brief are eastern daylight time based on a 24-hour clock), a Beech King Air 200, N501RH, operated by Hendrick Motorsports, Inc., crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport (MTV), Martinsville, Virginia. The flight was transporting Hendrick Motorsports employees and others to an automobile race in Martinsville, Virginia. The two flight crewmembers and eight passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and post crash fire. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the time of the accident.

The aircraft and its commander were concluding the fifth sector of the day when, shortly after starting a descent for Inverness, the aircraft’s rate of descent became unsteady and it started to turn left. The available evidence indicated that the aircraft struck the ground in a steep, left, spiral dive. The extreme fragmentation of the wreckage suggested a high impact speed, probably in the region of 350 kt. Major airframe and powerplant failures were discounted but otherwise, there was insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions about the reasons for the sudden deviation from controlled flight and secondly, the absence of any evidence consistent with an attempt to recover from the dive. Two safety recommendations made recently to the EASA concerning flight recorders were re-iterated.

The twin engine aircraft departed Coron-Francisco B. Reyes Airport on a cargo flight to Manila, carrying two pilots and a load consisting of 700 kilos of fish. While climbing in poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Tagbao located 9 km from the airport. The wreckage was found a day later and both pilots were killed.

The aircraft departed Villavicencio on a cargo flight to Medellin-José María Córdova Airport with one passenger and two pilots on board. While descending to Medellín, the crew was informed about the poor weather conditions at destination (poor visibility due to fog) and decided to divert to Medellín-Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport. On final approach, the aircraft descended too low when it struck a mountain located 13 km short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

The single engine aircraft departed Ostend Airport, Belgium, on a flight to the private airstrip of Château La Chassagne located about 21 km west of the Dijon-Longvic Airport. The flight from Ostend to Dijon was completed under IFR rules and was uneventful. After being cleared to continue under VFR to La Chassagne, the pilot cancelled the IFR flight plan and was cleared for a descent to runway 36. Visibility was 10 km, rain, ceiling at 800 feet and minimum safe altitude at 3,300 feet. The pilot informed ATC he was descending to runway 18 and left the frequency. Shortly later, at an altitude of 1,700 feet, the aircraft struck the southeast slope of Mt Afrique located in Corcelle-les-Monts. The wreckage was found in a wooded area and all four occupants were killed.

On approach to Urimán, the single engine aircraft crashed in a wooded area located few km from the destination airport. Both occupants were rescued a day later. The passenger was injured and the pilot was unhurt.

The commercial certificated pilot, with four passengers, departed for a remote lodge on an on-demand air taxi flight in an amphibious float-equipped airplane. The airplane was the second of two company airplanes to depart for the lodge. The route of flight would have transited around the north end, from the west side to the east side of a large island. The first company airplane completed the flight, but the accident airplane did not arrive at the lodge, and was reported overdue. Throughout the morning, before the accident flight, the pilot received two telephonic weather briefings from the local FAA flight service station, which included an AIRMET for mountain obscuration, and two pilot reports from the first pilot. In addition, the pilot visited the FSS for another weather briefing. The weather conditions along the route of flight had reported visibilities as low as 2 miles, and ceilings as low as 200 feet due to rain and mist, and wind of 35 to 40 knots. The area of the accident flight is characterized by steep mountainous island terrain, numerous ocean channels, and an extensive shoreline, containing small coves and bays. The area frequently has low ceilings and reduced visibility due to rain, fog, and mist. The island is one of several barrier islands between the north Pacific Ocean and mainland Alaska. The western coastal portion of the island is exposed to open ocean. The eastern coastal portion of the island is adjacent to a wide strait, which separates the island from several inner islands. The area of operations for the accident airplane has no low-level radar coverage, intermittent radio communications, and limited weather reporting capability. The company's operations manual states that aircraft may not be released for a flight at any location unless there is agreement about the parameters of the flight with the pilot-in-command, and any of the following: Director of operations; chief pilot; or trained individuals granted the authority by the director of operations. The airplane has been declared missing, and is presumed to have crashed; the occupants are presumed to have received fatal injuries.

The airline transport certificated pilot was conducting a VFR cross-country business flight, transporting cargo and personnel to a remote airport. The accident airplane was one of two airplanes transporting supplies for a hunting/fishing company, traveling a multi-segment route. The pilot was accompanied by a pilot-rated passenger occupying the right front seat, and a second passenger seated behind the pilot. The pilot obtained a weather briefing from the FAA, which included AIRMETs for mountain obscuration, and IFR conditions due to low ceilings and visibility in smoke, light rain and mist. The pilot said that when he took off on the accident flight, the visibility was 1 to 3 miles in smoke, haze, and fog, but was VFR. He recalled hazy conditions in which he could see rolling hills and river cuts. The pilot-rated passenger was initially flying the airplane. Upon entering lowering visibility, the pilot said he reassumed control of the airplane, and attempted a 180 degree turn to clear the low visibility area, but collided with trees and crashed. The rear seat passenger reported that the accident airplane was flying about 500 to 1,000 feet above the ground because of smoke and fog. He estimated the visibility at takeoff was about 1 mile. About 30 minutes after departure, the airplane was flying over mountainous terrain, and appeared to be following a canyon. The passenger said that the visibility decreased due to fog. He said that the airplane's throw-over control yoke was initially positioned in front of the right seat, pilot-rated passenger, when suddenly a mountain ridge appeared in front of the airplane. The pilot repositioned the control yoke in front of the left seat, banked the airplane to the left, and added engine power. Within a few seconds, the passenger indicated that he felt the airplane collide with several trees and then descend to the ground. The airplane came to rest upright with extensive fuselage damage, about 1,400 feet msl. One wing was torn off the airframe. A postcrash fire consumed the wreckage. A terminal forecast for the airport of departure included few clouds at 500 feet, and visibilities as low as 3 miles in smoke and mist. The destination airport for the accident flight segment had few clouds at 100 feet, and visibilities as low as 2 1/2 miles.

While descending to the altitude of 9,500 feet in poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt El Perico located about 25 km from the Maracay-El Libertador Air Force Base. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 30 occupants were killed, among them few civilians.

The twin engine aircraft departed Goma on a cargo flight to Walikale, carrying two passengers, one pilot and a load of ores. About 10 minutes after takeoff, while flying in limited visibility due to poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Nyiragongo located about 15 km north of Goma Airport. The wreckage was found at the altitude of 2,590 metres. The minimum safe altitude was fixed at 3,400 metres.