Beechcraft A36 N97CM

Summary

On 7 October 2005 at about 19:51 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N97CM, operated by Herman W Lester, was involved in an accident near Pikeville, Kentucky, 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

7 October 2005 at 19:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Pikeville, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Pikeville County Airport (PBX)

Coordinates

37.5472, -82.5703

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N97CM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Herman W Lester

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Paducah → Pikeville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC06FA004

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to follow the published instrument approach which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. A factor was the 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 had received a weather briefing, which included a forecast ceiling of 700 feet and visibility of 4 miles. He then filed an instrument flight plan, and proceeded uneventfully to the destination airport area. He remained in communication with air traffic control, and complied with their instructions, while flying a precision approach to runway 27. However, about 1 mile from the runway threshold, the airplane flew left of the localizer course and below decision height. The airplane subsequently impacted mountainous terrain about 1 mile south of the airport. Weather at the time was oscillating above and below minimums for the instrument approach, which required a ceiling of 200 feet and visibility of 3/4-mile. The published missed approach procedure included a climb to 3,000 feet and then a left climbing turn to 4,000 feet msl. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any to ATC.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.