Accident Overview
An aircraft was destroyed when it collided with snow-covered terrain during an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 32 at St Paul Downtown Holman Field Airport. The pilot had originally planned to fly to Cambridge, Minnesota, where the airplane was based, but requested a diversion into Holman Field due to weather conditions.
Investigation Findings
No abnormalities were found with any navigational equipment. A review of both the airframe and engine did not reveal any abnormalities. Radar data indicated that during the instrument approach, the aircraft's altitude varied by more than 1,300 feet from the assigned altitude. During these altitude deviations, the controller issued a heading change to the pilot.
Pilot Experience
The pilot's logbook indicated that this was the pilot's first instrument approach in actual instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions in this airplane. The pilot had flown 4.1 hours of actual instrument time in the past two years.
Conclusion
The accident resulted in the destruction of the aircraft. The investigation did not identify any specific cause in the source material.