Incident Overview
Description
The DC-3 departed Nashville for a flight to Knoxville and Tri-City with an inoperative radio compass. This defect was not entered in the aircraft log. The first leg of the flight was uneventful, apart from a 27 minute delay in the departure from Knoxville. Approaching Tri-City, the flight crew were cleared for an instrument runway 27 approach. Weather reported was 900 feet broken ceiling, 1700 feet overcast, visibility 3 miles, light snow, fog. The flight crew later reported not being able to pick up the Outer Marker visually, nor aurally due to problems with the ADF. The aircraft had passed east of the Outer Marker, turning beyond the normal procedure turn area and descending below surrounding terrain. The aircraft crashed on the northwest side of the rugged and heavily wooded Holston mountain range. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The Board determines the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the pilot to identify Gray intersection properly and his decision to continue an ILS approach contrary to company and regulatory procedures.”
Primary Cause
Failure to correctly identify the Gray intersection and subsequent ILS approach.Failure to correctly identify the Gray intersection and subsequent ILS approach.Share on:
