Beechcraft B-55 N64PW

Summary

On 1 December 2005 at about 21:44 local time, a Beechcraft B-55 registered N64PW, operated by George F. Baker III, was involved in an accident near Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 December 2005 at 21:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Nantucket Memorial (ACK)

Coordinates

41.2531, -70.0603

Aircraft

Beechcraft B-55

Registration

N64PW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

George F. Baker III

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Teterboro → Nantucket

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC06FA040

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath during the instrument approach, which resulted in controlled flight into water. Factors were the failure of the air traffic controllers to issue minimum safe altitude warnings, night lighting conditions, and a low ceiling.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instrument rated pilot obtained a weather briefing from a flight service station (FSS), filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, and proceeded in a Beech B-55 on a return flight to his home airport. The flight was in radio and radar contact with air traffic control (ATC). As the airplane intercepted the localizer course for the instrument landing system (ILS) approach, the Approach controller vectored the airplane off the localizer for spacing. The controller then vectored the airplane back onto the localizer, and cleared the flight for the ILS approach. At that time, the airplane was approximately 2 miles prior to the final approach fix (FAF), at 300 feet above the crossing altitude, and a groundspeed of 140 knots. The controller advised the pilot to contact the local air traffic control tower (ATCT), but did not provide a frequency. The controller was not required to provide the frequency, and recalled that the airplane was based at the destination airport. The airplane crossed the FAF at 300 feet above the crossing altitude, at a groundspeed of 110 knots. The airplane tracked the localizer course above the glideslope, and then flew below the glideslope during the approach. The Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS) generated the first of two Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW) alerts. At the time, the airplane was 600 to 700 feet agl; and a second MSAW alert was generated when the airplane was approximately 200 feet agl. The Approach and ATCT controllers were required to provide those warnings to the accident pilot; however, they did not. At 200 feet, the pilot asked the Approach controller for the local ATCT frequency. The Approach controller advised the pilot of the frequency, but radar contact and radio communication were lost when the airplane impacted the Atlantic Ocean approximately 1 mile from the airport. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, with an overcast ceiling of 400 feet, and visibility 2 1/2 miles in light rain and mist.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.