What happened
The flight was originally destined for Youngstown, Ohio, but weather conditions there were below landing minimums. The crew diverted to Erie, Pennsylvania, which had weather slightly above minimums. Although the team's coach and business manager expressed dissatisfaction with the change, arrangements were made to transport the football team to their final destination by bus.
During the flight, the business manager occupied a jumpseat in the cockpit, violating Federal Aviation Regulations. Upon arriving at Erie, the weather deteriorated significantly, reducing visibility to one-quarter mile with ceiling obscured by fog at 100 feet. The crew entered a holding pattern without air traffic control clearance to wait for improvements.
Deciding to proceed with an Instrument Landing System approach, the crew left the holding pattern without clearance. The minimums for this approach required a decision height of 200 feet and one-half mile visibility. At approximately 2,800 feet above ground level, radar contact with air traffic control was lost. Despite this, the crew received a weather report from a station agent indicating conditions were above minimums and continued the approach without clearance.
The crew failed to activate the airport's approach lighting system. At the decision height, the first officer stated he did not have visual reference to the runway. However, the captain saw lights to his left and continued the descent. The aircraft touched down on soft ground beside the runway and rolled to a stop, sustaining minor damage.
The investigation
Investigators examined the airport's lighting infrastructure and discovered that runway lights at Step 1 were illuminated instead of Step 2 due to a wiring problem. Additionally, two emergency slides were found to be malfunctioning. The captain had been on duty for approximately 15 hours and awake for 19.5 hours prior to the incident.
Findings
The accident was caused by the crew's decision to continue the approach below minimums without air traffic control clearance in deteriorating weather conditions. Contributing factors included the captain's continued descent despite the first officer reporting a lack of visual reference, the failure to activate the approach lighting system, and the captain's fatigue from extended duty hours.
Safety message
Pilots must adhere strictly to instrument approach minimums and maintain positive air traffic control communication during all phases of flight. Crew resource management is critical, and captains should not override first officer concerns regarding visual acquisition of the runway environment.