Crash of a Beechcraft 99 Airliner in Auburn: 8 killed
Date & Time:
Aug 25, 1985 at 2205 LT
Operator:
Registration:
N300WP
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Boston - Auburn
MSN:
U-22
YOM:
1968
Flight number:
QO1808
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Captain / Total hours on type:
4467.00
Copilot / Total hours on type:
153
Aircraft flight hours:
30335
Circumstances:
Flight 1808 took off from Boston runway 04L at 21:30 for a flight to Auburn. Clearance was received of 7000 feet and to contact Portland Approach Control. Portland Approach cleared Flight 1808 at 21:58 for a runway 04 ILS approach. Three minutes later the controller noticed that Flight 1808 was east of course and asked if the it was receiving the Lewiston localizer. The captain replied that they hadn't and were given instructions to turn left heading 340. A left turn to 354° started and the aircraft passed Lewie Outer Marker (LOM) at 165 knots, 2,600 feet (30 knots too fast and 600 feet too high). At 22:02 the aircraft exited the left side of the localizer, still at a 354° heading. The crew then tried to capture the glide slope and enter the localizer again until it entered the left side of the localizer (22:04:08) and descended through the bottom boundary of the glide slope. At ca 22:04:16 the aircraft struck trees 4,007 feet short of the runway and 440 feet right of the extended centreline, continued 737 feet and struck level ground in nearly an inverted attitude. One of the passengers killed in the crash was American schoolgirl, peace activist and child actress Samantha Smith. She was returning to Auburn with her father after taking part to a TV movie in Boston.
Probable cause:
The captain's continuation of an unstabilized approach which resulted in a descent below glide slope. Contributing to the unstabilized approach was the radar controller's issuance and the captain's acceptance of a non-standard air traffic control radar vector resulting in an excessive intercept with the localizer.
Final Report:
