Crash of a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain in Bathurst: 2 killed
Date & Time:
Jan 4, 1994 at 1845 LT
Registration:
C-GNPG
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Moncton - Bathurst
MSN:
31-7752119
YOM:
1977
Flight number:
Empress204
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total hours on type:
2600.00
Copilot / Total hours on type:
350
Aircraft flight hours:
8162
Circumstances:
At 1805 Atlantic standard time (AST), C-GNPG, a Piper Navajo Chieftain operating as Empress 204, departed Moncton, New Brunswick, on a scheduled courier flight to Bathurst. The aircraft carried a two-pilot crew, and there was no cargo on board. The aircraft proceeded direct to Bathurst at 8,000 feet above sea level (asl) and at 1820 AST was cleared by Moncton Area Control Centre (ACC) for an approach at Bathurst. The co-pilot contacted the Bathurst UNICOM and advised the operator that the crew would be flying the non-directional beacon/distance measuring equipment (NDB/DME) runway 10 approach. During the non-precision instrument approach to runway 10, the aircraft struck trees .75 nautical miles (nm) inside the Bathurst beacon and 3.75 nm from the airport. The accident occurred at approximately 1845 AST, during the hours of darkness in instrument meteorological conditions, at an elevation of 450 feet asl. Both pilots were killed.
Probable cause:
The crew of Empress 204 allowed the aircraft to descend below the minimum descent altitude for the approach.
Final Report:
