Cessna 425 N425EW

Summary

On 16 December 1996 at about 23:40 local time, a Cessna 425 registered N425EW was involved in an accident near Bohemia, New York, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 December 1996 at 23:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Bohemia, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Long Island-Mac Arthur (ISP)

Coordinates

40.7304, -73.1291

Aircraft

Cessna 425

Registration

N425EW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

MacOn → Islip

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC97FA030

3 people died.

the pilot's early descent to decision height and his failure to perform the missed approach procedure. A factor was the failure of air traffic control to issue a safety advisory.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had received clearance for the ILS Runway 6 approach and was advised that the previous landing traffic reported '...breaking out at minimums.' Radar data revealed that the airplane descended in instrument meteorological conditions to the decision height altitude of 294 feet, approximately 3 miles from the missed approach point. The pilot did not perform the missed approach procedure. The airplane leveled off and continued at or below decision height altitude for approximately 28 seconds, traveling a distance of approximately 1 mile. Four low altitude alerts appeared on the tower controller's display. The controller stated he withheld the alert because '...it was a critical phase of flight and the aircraft appeared to be climbing...' The airplane collided with trees and terrain approximately 1.5 miles from the approach end of the landing runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.