What happened
The first officer was hand-flying the aircraft during an instrument flight rules (IFR) approach when both crew members visually identified the approach path and runway lighting systems. At that time, they confirmed the cloud ceiling was at 300 feet above ground level and visibility was three-quarters of a mile. The flight continued its descent until the aircraft reached 200 feet above ground level.
At this altitude, the crew momentarily leveled off due to a loss of visual contact with the runway environment. They resumed the descent but soon entered patchy fog that completely obscured the runway surface. As the crew considered executing a missed approach, the aircraft impacted the ground on the right side of the runway and collided with the runway edge lights before eventually coming to a stop.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the impact. Key findings included the confirmation that the cloud ceiling was 300 feet and visibility was 3/4 mile at the time of initial visual contact. The aircraft descended to 200 feet AGL before leveling off temporarily due to lost visual references. The crew's decision to continue the descent into patchy fog is a critical factor in the outcome.
Findings
The primary contributing factors were the loss of visual contact with the runway and the subsequent entry into patchy fog that obscured the runway. The crew's failure to execute a missed approach earlier, despite losing visual references, led to the controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) event. The collision with the runway edge lights indicates the aircraft was significantly below the desired glide path or deviated laterally from the centerline.
Safety message
Pilots must adhere strictly to minimum descent altitudes and execute a missed approach immediately upon losing visual references during an instrument approach. Continuing descent into known or suspected low visibility conditions without adequate visual cues increases the risk of controlled flight into terrain.