Raytheon Aircraft Services

Raytheon 390 Premier I

The airplane overran the runway after landing on runway 7. The passenger stated that he felt that the approach was "fast" and that the pilot was "behind the power curve" because of high minimum en route altitudes in the area and that they had to "hustle down" during the descent. The passenger indicated that the flight crossed the runway threshold "maybe a bit more" that 10 knots above Vref and touched down about 10 knots above Vref. He said it was not a stabilized approach. Landing distance calculations and other evidence suggest that the lift dump panels did not extend after landing; however, the investigation did not determine the reason(s) for the lack of lift dump. No evidence was found of any failures affecting the lift dump or braking systems. Evidence and interview statements reveal that the pilot flew an unstabilized approach to the runway and landed well above target speed. The high landing speed was result of the pilot's excessive airspeed on the approach and a tailwind component of about 8 knots. Although the pilot landed the airplane within the touchdown area, the airplane's speed upon touchdown was about 17 knots above the prescribed speed. The flight's unstabilized approach and excessive speed should have prompted the pilot to initiate a missed approach.

Beechcraft 1900C

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.