What happened
While operating in instrument meteorological conditions, the pilot performed a missed approach. During this maneuver, a ground witness observed the aircraft traveling in a direction opposite to the final approach course. The flight path was noted to be inconsistent with the established missed approach procedure.
Following this observation, the airplane entered an abrupt 90-degree banking turn and moved into the cloud layer. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft crashed while in a near-vertical descent attitude. The pilot's final communications to the local air traffic controller could not be understood due to being unintelligible.
The investigation
An examination of the wreckage was conducted to determine if mechanical issues contributed to the accident. Investigators found that the main landing gears were in a position of transit at the time of the crash. However, the inspection revealed no evidence of any engine or airplane malfunctions or failures existing prior to the event.