Beechcraft 1900C N127YV

Summary

On 9 December 2002 at about 16:40 local time, a Beechcraft 1900C registered N127YV, operated by Raytheon Aircraft Comapany, was involved in an accident near Eagleton, Arkansas, 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

9 December 2002 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Eagleton, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Mena Intermountain Municipal (M39)

Coordinates

34.6875, -94.2192

Aircraft

Beechcraft 1900C

Registration

N127YV

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Raytheon Aircraft Comapany

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wichita → Mena

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03FA059

3 people died.

In-flight collision with terrain due to the pilot's failure to maintain clearance and altitude above rapidly rising terrain while on a VFR approach. Contributing factors were the obscuration of the terrain due to clouds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft collided with mountainous terrain in a level descent during a visual approach to the destination airport. According to recorded radar data, 10 minutes after descending from 15,000 feet, the flight impacted about 200 feet below the top of the partially obscured ridgeline (elevation of 2550 feet), and 8 miles from the destination. The data indicates the flight path was similar to the global positioning satellite (GPS) approach to the airport. Six minutes before the accident, and the pilot's last transmission to air traffic control, he was informed and acknowledged that radar service was terminated. The flight was 12.4 miles from the accident site when radar contact was lost. Reduced visibility due to fog hampered search & rescue efforts, and the aircraft wreckage was located the next day. The aircraft was equipped with a GPS navigation system; however the installation was incomplete, restricting its use to visual flight rules (VFR) only. The investigation did not determine if the GPS was being used at the time. A non-enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System was also installed. The maximum elevation figure listed on the sectional aeronautical chart covering the area of the accident site and destination airport was 3000 feet mean sea level. The chart also shows an advisory for the area to use caution due to rapidly rising.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.