- Date
- February 26, 1992, 08:26 local (13:26 UTC)
- Place
- Morganton, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N347GBeech H-18
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920226004079A
- Case key
- 8498
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The failure of the pilot to follow FAR and company procedures, and his failure to maintain proper altitude during the approach. Factors were the mountainous terrain conditions, and the foggy, low ceiling weather conditions existing at the time of the accident.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The commercial pilot was on a part 135 cargo flight. Since the destination airport had no weather reporting facility, company policy and FAR 135 required a VFR descent and landing from the mva. The pilot requested and received clearance for a localizer approach to the airport, although a nearby airport was reporting 400' broken/3 miles with fog. The pilot reported to ATC that he had missed his first approach, and requested a second approach to the same airport. After executing the missed approach, the aircraft impacted mountainous terrian while aligned with the extended centerline of the localizer. Cap personnel reported that the accident site was obscured in clouds at the time of the accident. The investigation revealed that the aircraft descended about 1,500 feet below a minimum altitude on the first approach attempt. Mode c altitude data was lost during the missed approach. Four years earlier, this pilot descended below glidepath on an ILS approach and crashed into trees with weather below approach minimums.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N347G
- Reported as
- Beech H-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- BA-654
- Airframe hours
- 13,506
- Engine
- P&W R985-14B, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Piedmont Air Cargo, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Piedmont Air Cargo, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 14, 1991 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- CLT · Charlotte, NC
- Destination
- MRN · Morganton, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MRN · Morganton-Lenoir, runway 3, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 52 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HKY, 18 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.