Cessna 402C N318AB

Summary

On 8 February 1997 at about 23:32 local time, a Cessna 402C registered N318AB, operated by Air Sunshine, Inc., was involved in an accident near St. Thomas. 5 people were on board and 2 died, 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 February 1997 at 23:32

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Thomas

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 402C

Registration

N318AB

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Air Sunshine, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Croix → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA97FA082

2 people died.

The failure of the pilot to maintain altitude while making a visual approach at night over water in black hole conditions resulting in the aircraft descending and crashing into the sea. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the pilot and operator to use all available air traffic control and navigational facilities, and the FAA Principle Operations Inspector's inadequate surveillance of the operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the flight made a visual approach to the airport from the south over the sea, at night, the pilot changed his navigation radio from the VOR to the ILS system for runway 10 and lost DME reading from the VOR located on a hill north of the localizer course. The localizer showed the flight was south of the localizer course, and without DME from the VOR the pilot believed he was much closer to the island and the airport than the aircraft actually was. As the pilot attempted to make visual contact with the airport and maintain clearance from the hills he allowed the aircraft to descend and crash into the sea about 3 miles southwest of the airport. The pilot had not filed a FAA flight plan for the scheduled commuter flight. The pilot had been flying the route for 5 days and had no previous experience in the area. The pilot reported he had no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft systems, flight controls, or engines. No FAA Operations inspectors had conducted surveillance on the company's flight operations in the Caribbean since service had begun in December 1996.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.