Grumman American G-1159 Gulfstream II B – XB-KKU

Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 7 October 2007

Aircraft Type: Grumman American G-1159 Gulfstream II B

Owner/operator: private

Registration Number: XB-KKU

Location: ca 9 km from Santo Domingo Airport (STD) – ÿ Venezuela

Phase of Flight: Approach

Status: Destroyed, written off

Casualties: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2

Component Affected: Pilot’s actions and situational awareness during the flight.Pilot’s actions and situational awareness during the flight.

Investigating Agency: JIAAC VenezuelaJIAAC Venezuela

Category: Accident

On the night of [Date], a Gulfstream II B jet struck trees near Santo Domingo Airport, Venezuela, resulting in a fatal accident. The aircraft, operating an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, departed Bonaire-Flamingo International Airport at night, flying to Santo Domingo Airport (SVSO) at an altitude of FL430, with an estimated en route time of 1:15 hours. After clearing to descend to FL100, the flight was transferred to Santo Domingo Tower. The controller instructed the crew to proceed to runway 29, requesting confirmation of field visibility. Upon reaching FL100, the crew reported being 7 miles out, and asked if PAPI lights were available. The flight crew also requested confirmation of barometric pressure and increased runway lights to maximum intensity. After confirming the lights were at maximum intensity, the crew reported losing sight of the field, initiating a clockwise circle to the right. The Tower controller advised them to proceed to Pi¤al NDB at 5000 feet. The crew acknowledged, reported being at 11 NM and inquired about the presence of rain. The controller confirmed the presence of rain, indicating the field was to the left, referencing the controller’s position. The controller subsequently lost sight of the aircraft and repeated calls without obtaining a response, ultimately confirming the aircraft suffered an accident. The incident was likely caused by a Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) event due to a lack of adherence to the instrument approach chart procedure.On the night of [Date], a Gulfstream II B jet struck trees near Santo Domingo Airport, Venezuela, resulting in a fatal accident. The aircraft, operating an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, departed Bonaire-Flamingo International Airport at night, flying to Santo Domingo Airport (SVSO) at an altitude of FL430, with an estimated en route time of 1:15 hours. After clearing to descend to FL100, the flight was transferred to Santo Domingo Tower. The controller instructed the crew to proceed to runway 29, requesting confirmation of field visibility. Upon reaching FL100, the crew reported being 7 miles out, and asked if PAPI lights were available. The flight crew also requested confirmation of barometric pressure and increased runway lights to maximum intensity. After confirming the lights were at maximum intensity, the crew reported losing sight of the field, initiating a clockwise circle to the right. The Tower controller advised them to proceed to Pi¤al NDB at 5000 feet. The crew acknowledged, reported being at 11 NM and inquired about the presence of rain. The controller confirmed the presence of rain, indicating the field was to the left, referencing the controller’s position. The controller subsequently lost sight of the aircraft and repeated calls without obtaining a response, ultimately confirming the aircraft suffered an accident. The incident was likely caused by a Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) event due to a lack of adherence to the instrument approach chart procedure.

Description

A Gulfstream II B jet struck trees and disintegrated when impacting the ground near Santo Domingo Airport, Venezuela. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the area at the time, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. Both pilots were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The aircraft took off from Bonaire-Flamingo International Airport at night on an IFR flight plan to Santo Domingo Airport (SVSO), Venezuela, at an altitude of FL430, with an estimated en route time of 1:15 hrs. At the Sarinas position the flight was cleared to descend to FL100, and instructed to notify when over the CANTON VOR. After reaching FL100, the was flight transferred to Santo Domingo Tower. The controller cleared the flight for a direct approach to runway 29 and requested that they reported when the field was in sight. When the crew reported being 7 miles out with the field in sight, the pilot asked if PAPI lights were available. The flight crew also requested confirmation of barometric pressure and to increase the runway lights to maximum intensity. After the controller confirmed the lights were at maximum intensity, the flight crew reported having lost sight of the field, proceeding to circle the field to the right, en route to the CANTON VOR. The Tower controller advised them to proceed to the Pi¤al NDB at 5000 feet. The crew acknowledged, reported being at 11 NM and inquired about the presence of rain over the field. The controller confirmed the presence of rain, also indicating that the field was to the left, in reference to his position. From that moment on, the tower control lost sight of the aircraft and made repeated calls without obtaining any response, subsequently confirming that the aircraft had suffered an accident. CAUSE: It is considered that the most probable cause of the accident was controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), since at no time were there any reports of failures or emergencies. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: – The crew did not comply with the instrument approach chart procedure published for that airport. – In conducting both approaches, the crew never had the field in sight. – The crew never had an advisory from the Control Center.