ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 188194
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| Date: | Thursday 16 June 2016 |
| Time: | 08:30 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-325 Navajo |
| Owner/operator: | Aeronational Inc |
| Registration: | N3591P |
| MSN: | 31-8012081 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 16040 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming TIO-540 SER |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 1 mile NE of University Park Airport (KUNV), State College, PA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Washington, PA (AFJ) |
| State College, PA (UNV) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial pilot was completing an instrument flight rules air taxi flight on a route that he had flown numerous times for the customer on board. Radar and voice communication data revealed that the airplane was vectored to the final approach course for the precision approach and was given a radio frequency change to the destination airport control tower frequency. The tower controller issued a landing clearance, which the pilot acknowledged; there were no further communications with the pilot. Weather conditions at the airport at the time of the accident included an overcast ceiling at 300 ft with 1 mile visibility in mist.
The wreckage was located in densely-wooded terrain. Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The wreckage path and evidence of engine power displayed by numerous cut tree branches was consistent with a controlled, wings-level descent with power.
A radar performance study revealed that, as the airplane crossed the precision final approach fix 6.7 nautical miles (nm) from the runway threshold, the airplane was 800 ft above the glideslope. At the outer marker, 5.5 nm from the runway threshold, the airplane was 500 ft above the glideslope. When radar contact was lost 3.2 nm from the threshold, the airplane was about 250 ft above the glideslope. Although the airplane remained within the lateral limits of the approach localizer, its last two recorded radar returns would have correlated with a full-downward deflection of the glideslope indicator in the cockpit, and therefore, an unstabilized approach.
Further interpolation of radar data revealed that, during the last 2 minutes of the accident flight, the airplane's rate of descent increased from 400 ft per minute (fpm) to greater than 1,700 fpm, likely as a result of pilot inputs. During the final minute of the flight, the rate decreased briefly to 1,000 fpm before radar contact was lost. The company's standard operating procedures stated that, if a rate of descent greater than 1,000 fpm was encountered during an instrument approach, a missed approach should be performed.
The airplane's relative position to the glideslope and its rapid changes in descent rate after crossing the outer marker suggest that the airplane never met the operator's stabilized approach criteria. Rather than executing a missed approach procedure as outlined in the company's operating procedures, the pilot chose to continue the unstabilized approach, which resulted in a descent into trees and terrain.
It is unlikely that the pilot's well-controlled diabetes and effectively treated sleep apnea contributed to the circumstances of this accident. However, whether or not the pilot's multiple sclerosis contributed to this accident could not be determined.
Probable Cause: The pilot's decision to continue an unstabilized instrument approach in instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3591P
6. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N3591P/history/20160616/1140Z/KAFJ/KUNV
8. https://flightaware.com/photos/view/269247-4bf38eec918110750bb537eae7b194faa4494715/aircrafttype/PA31
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 9 September 2012 | N3591P | Aeronational Inc | 0 | Washington, Pennsylvania | |
sub |
| Bird strike | ||||||
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Jun-2016 23:37 | Geno | Added |
| 17-Jun-2016 00:22 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Jun-2016 06:51 | bovine | Updated [Source] |
| 17-Jun-2016 06:52 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 17-Jun-2016 14:55 | Geno | Updated [Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Sep-2017 16:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Oct-2017 18:54 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 23-Oct-2017 18:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Mar-2018 17:57 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Feb-2020 22:42 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Photo] |
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