# Accident 20180915013669A: Columbia Aircraft Mfg LC41-550FG, Woburn, MA, September 15, 2018 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 15, 2018, 11:03 local time - Place: Woburn, MA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.4542° N, 71.1828° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.4542&lon=-71.1828&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2536T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2536T-2021-10-30) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Columbia Aircraft Mfg LC41-550FG (registry code 5150011, https://openairdocs.org/model/columbia-aircraft-mfg-lc41-550fg) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental TSIO-550-C (registry code 17246, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-550-c) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: COLUMBIA AIRCRAFT MFG LC41-550FG - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-550-C - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 1,938 total, 2 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA18FA251](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18FA251) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180915013669A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. NOTIFICATION: ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2018, AT APPROXIMATELY 15:17Z, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION?S REGIONAL OPERATION CENTER (FAA ROC) NOTIFIED INSPECTOR KEITH LAPIERRE OF AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING N2536T, A COLUMBIA COL 4, THAT OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 3 NM EAST OF LAWRENCE G. HANSCOM FIELD (BED) AT APPROXIMATELY 15:03Z WHILE CONDUCTING AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO RUNWAY 29. WEATHER: THE RECORDED WEATHER OBSERVATION AT BED AT 14:56Z WAS WINDS CALM, VISIBILITY 2 STATUTE MILES, SKY OVERCAST 400 FEET, TEMPERATURE 20° C, DEW POINT 18° C, AND AN ALTIMETER SETTING OF 30.20 INCHES OF MERCURY. PILOT REPORT: N5856Y LANDED IN BED AT 14:45Z AND REPORTED THE TOPS OF THE CLOUDS TO BE 1,800 FEET MSL AND BASES OF THE CLOUDS WERE 400 FEET MSL WITH TWO STATUTE MILE VISIBILITY. THE PILOT STATED IN AN INTERVIEW THAT THERE WAS NO TURBULENCE DURING THE APPROACH TO RUNWAY 29 IN BED. ON SCENE 09/15/2018: FAA INSPECTORS ARRIVED ON SCENE AT APPROXIMATELY 17:30Z AND MET WITH NTSB INVESTIGATOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. NTSB INVESTIGATOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS IN THE AREA INVESTIGATING ANOTHER NON-AVIATION RELATED INCIDENT. INVESTIGATOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ADVISED THAT SENIOR AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WILL BE THE NTSB IIC AND THAT INVESTIGATOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WOULD BE ARRIVING ON SCENE AT 08:00 EST ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2018. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED SEVERAL TREES, CAUSING PIECES OF THE AIRCRAFT TO BREAK OFF. WITNESS MARKS LEFT ON THE TREES INDICTED A LOW ANGLE FLIGHT PATH AND HIGH VELOCITY IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SPREAD OUT IN MULTIPLE PIECES OVER APPROXIMATELY 350 FEET ALONG THE FINAL FLIGHT PATH, AIRCRAFT PIECE BEGINNING APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET PRIOR TO THE POINT OF IMPACT AND CONTINUING APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET AFTER POINT OF IMPACT. WITNESS MARKS LEFT ON THE TREES AND THE DIRECTION OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE CAME TO REST ON AN APPROXIMATE 090 HEADING, WHICH WAS 180 DEGREES TO THE DIRECTION OF THE AIRPORT AND ILS TO RUNWAY 29 AT BED. POLICE ON SCENE INDICATED THAT THEY LOCATED TWO BODIES; BOTH THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT. MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE DETECTIVES ARRANGED WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER?S OFFICE TO REMOVE THE BODIES. FAA PERSONNEL LEFT TWO FAA TOXICOLOGY KITS IN THE POSSESSION OF MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE TO PASS ALONG TO THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS WHEN THEY ARRIVED ON SCENE. ON SCENE 09/16/2018: FAA INSPECTOR LAPIERRE AND INSPECTOR SAVARD ARRIVED ON SCENE WITH NTSB IIC ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2018 AT APPROXIMATELY 08:00 EST ALONG WITH INSPECTORS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ FROM TEXTRON AVIATION AND INSPECTOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ FROM CONTINENTAL MOTORS. ATC DATA: PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, THE PILOT DID NOT MAKE ANY DISTRESS CALLS. ATC WAS PROVIDING RADAR VECTOR FOR THE ILS 29 AT BED. AT APPROXIMATELY 15:00, BOS APPROACH ASSIGNED THE PILOT TO FLY HEADING 270 AND MAINTAIN 1,800 FEET MSL UNTIL ESTABLISHED ON THE APPROACH AND APPROACH CLEARANCE WAS GIVEN. BED TOWER ISSUES A LOW ALTITUDE ALERT TO THE PILOT AT APPROXIMATELY 15:02Z. AT APPROXIMATELY 15:03Z THE PILOT INDICATES TO TOWER THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER ESTABLISHED ON THE APPROACH. RADAR DATA SHOW THAT THE PILOT WAS TRYING TO CORRECT THE ALTITUDE AND THEN IN THE LAST 8 SECONDS OF ADSB DATA, THE AIRCRAFT APPEARS TO LOSE APPROXIMATELY 1100 FEET. LAST RADAR HIT SHOWS THE AIRCRAFT AT 1,100 FEET MSL, HEADING 224, AND A GROUND SPEED OF 46 KNOTS. ## 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 ERA18FA251](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18FA251), Sep 15, 2018: Columbia Aircraft Mfg LC41 (N2536T), Woburn, MA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilots' loss of control during an instrument approach in instrument meteorological conditions as a result of spatial disorientation. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.