What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The aircraft was cleared for the GPS approach to runway 18 and progressed on the inbound course until reaching the final approach fix. The aircraft then made an abrupt descending left turn away from the airport inside of the final approach fix and impacted trees in a wings level attitude 400 feet below the minimum descent altitude for the GPS 18 approach. The aircraft impacted the terrain 790 feet from the first tree strike. There was no report of a distress call made by the pilot and no pre-impact anomalies found with the flight controls, engine, or propeller.
As the FAA filed it
THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLEARED FOR THE GPS APPROACH TO RUNWAY 18 AND PROGRESSED ON THE INBOUND COURSE UNTIL REACHING THE FINAL APPROACH FIX. THE AIRCRAFT THEN MADE AN ABRUPT DESCENDING LEFT TURN AWAY FROM THE AIRPORT INSIDE OF THE FINAL APPROACH FIX AND IMPACTED TREES IN A WINGS LEVEL ATTITUDE 400 FEET BELOW THE MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE FOR THE GPS 18 APPROACH. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN 790 FEET FROM THE FIRST TREE STRIKE. THERE WAS NO REPORT OF A DISTRESS CALL MADE BY THE PILOT AND NO PRE-IMPACT ANOMALIES FOUND WITH THE FLIGHT CONTROLS, ENGINE, OR PROPELLER.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.
Other reports on N408DM · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.