Piper PA-23-250 N26399

Summary

On 22 November 2005 at about 23:45 local time, a Piper PA-23-250 registered N26399, operated by Donald Roberge, was involved in an accident near Burlington, Vermont, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 November 2005 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Burlington, Vermont, United States

Nearest airport

Burlington Int'l Airport (BTV)

Coordinates

44.4272, -73.0794

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-250

Registration

N26399

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Donald Roberge

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hartford → Burlington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC06FA034

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to follow the published instrument flight procedure, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain. Factors in the accident were the local air traffic controller's inadequate monitoring of the MSAW system, and his delayed instructions for the pilot to gain altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While flying the ILS approach to the destination airport, the airplane remained aligned (laterally) with the inbound approach course; however, it remained above the glideslope, and then descended through it, approximately 7 miles from the runway. The airplane continued a gradual descent until it impacted wooded terrain approximately 3 miles from the approach end of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical deficiencies. The airport was equipped with a Minimum Safe Altitude Warning System (MSAW) designed to alert controllers when an aircraft is in danger of colliding with terrain or obstructions. Examination of system documentation and the radar replay revealed a low-altitude alert was displayed on the radar screen, and an alert message was sent to activate the MSAW alarms. Although the approach controller had transferred control of the airplane to the local controller, he continued to monitor the airplane on the approach. When he noticed the airplane descend below the glidepath, he notified the local controller, whose radar display also indicated a low altitude alert; however, the local controller's first instruction to the pilot to "climb," was 5 seconds after the last target was observed on radar. The pilot reported 470 total hours of flight experience, and 92 hours of total (actual) instrument flight time. During the preceding 6 months, the pilot accumulated 2 hours of instrument flight time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.