# Accident 19971212038579A: Gulstm 690A, Yakima, WA, December 12, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 12, 1997, 22:30 local time
- Place: Yakima, WA
- Airport: Yakima Air Terminal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Initial Approach-IFR
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 46.5395° N, 120.7603° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.5395&lon=-120.7603&mi=10
- Aircraft: N72VF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N72VF-2017-06-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Commander 690A (registry code 0141722, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-690a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: AiResearch TPE331 series (registry code 01514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/airesearch-tpe331-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GULSTM 690A
- Reported engine: GARRTT TPE3315
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 4,800 total, 80 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98FA023](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98FA023) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971212038579A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(TTY) ACFT CRASHED UND UNK CIRC WHILE ON APPROACH 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJ. ACFT WAS DESTROYED. YAKIMA, WA. (.40THE FLIGHT WAS OPERATING INTO THE YAKIMA AIRPORT AT NIGHT DURING THE PERIOD THE AIRPORT OPERATES AS NON-TOWERED.  SOME WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT INITIALLY APPEARED LOWER THAN NORMAL AND THAT IT DESCENDED AND IMPACTED THE GROUND AT A STEEP ANGLE, AND SOME WITNESSES REPORTED AN ABRUPT ENTRY INTO THE DESCENT.  THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED 2.2 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD, SLIGHTLY RIGHT OF THE LOCALIZER COURSE THE PILOT WAS 'CLEARED FOR APPROACH' BY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) AND HE SUBSEQUENTLY INITIATED AN INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM (ILS) APPROACH TO RUNWAY 27.  THE LAST RADAR POSITION SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT APPROXIMATELY ON THE LOCALIZER, AT GLIDE SLOPE INTERCEPT ALTITUDE, 9 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT.  THREE MINUTES AFTER THE LAST RADAR POSITION, THE PILOT REPORTED TO ATC HE HAD BROKEN OUT AND HAD THE AIRPORT IN SIGHT, AND CANCELED INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR).  ATC THEN TERMINATED SERVICE AND APPROVED A FREQUENCY CHANGE..  CEILING WAS 1,500 FEET OVERCAST WITH 6 MILES VISIBILITY IN MIST, WITH NO SIGNIFICANT ICING                                           FORECAST. NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WAS FOUND; HOWEVER, MUCH OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS CONSUMED BY AN INTENSE POST-CRASH FIRE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA98FA023](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98FA023), Dec 13, 1997: Aero Commander 690A (N72VF), Yakima, WA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: A loss of aircraft control for undetermined reasons.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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