Piper PA-31-310 Navajo crash, Aug 16, 2014 (2 killed), Gr...
Piper PA-31-310 Navajo accident on August 16, 2014 near Grand Manan Islands, New Brunswick, Canada with 2 fatalities. Cause: TSB: It is likely that the...
- Date: August 16, 2014
- Aircraft: Piper PA-31-310 Navajo
- Location: Grand Manan Islands, New Brunswick, Canada
- Fatalities: 2
- Phase of flight: Approach and landing
- Cause: TSB: It is likely that the weather at the time of both approaches did not allow the captain to see the required visual references for a safe landing. The captain started a steep descent about 0.56 nautical mile from the threshold that was not corrected in time, and the aircraft struck a road and terrain short of the runway. The captain flew with only one headset, which limited shared situational awareness.
The Atlantic Charters Piper PA31 air ambulance returned at night from Saint John to Grand Manan with two pilots and two passengers after a medevac flight. After a go around on the first approach to runway 24, the aircraft struck a road short of the runway on the second approach, continued through brush and hit the ground left of the centreline about 1000 feet before the threshold. The captain and a passenger were killed and the other pilot and the second passenger were seriously injured. The TSB found that the lack of visual references in the weather, together with a steep descent that was not corrected, led to the collision with terrain.