Incident Overview
An aircraft was destroyed when it impacted the ground near the approach end of runway 03 following a loss of control during a landing attempt. The tower had cleared the pilot to land on runway 03, but the pilot initially lined up for runway 35. After being informed of the error, the pilot executed a steep left bank maneuver in an attempt to realign with runway 03. The airplane then entered a nose-low descent and struck the ground.
Radar Data
Air Traffic Control radar tracked the aircraft as it approached the airport from the east. At 1556:05, the airplane began a right turn to a heading of 314 degrees, at an altitude of 6,000 feet mean sea level (msl) and an airspeed of 122 knots. At 1556:57, radar showed an abrupt left turn to 294 degrees, with altitude at 5,700 feet msl and airspeed at 90 knots. Over the next 28 seconds, the turn continued until the airplane rolled out on a heading of 225 degrees. At 1557:34, an abrupt right turn to 000 degrees was observed. Approximately 4 seconds later, the airplane was in a left turn on a heading of 314 degrees. This left turn continued until radar contact was lost at 1557:48.
Post-Accident Examination
An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. A review of the pilot's records indicated that he had logged 4.7 hours in the previous 90 days, with approximately 3.5 of those hours on the day of the accident.