Approach and Navigation
The flight was cleared for the ILS runway 5L approach upon arriving at the destination airport. The pilot, unfamiliar with the airport, requested and received radar vectors. Approach control informed the pilot when established on the localizer that he was cleared for the ILS runway 5L approach. After multiple unsuccessful landing attempts at Raleigh-Durham Airport, approach control provided the pilot with visual flight rules alternatives to Greensboro and Winston-Salem Airports. The pilot requested to attempt another approach.
Accident Sequence
On the final approach attempt, approach control lost radio and radar contact with the airplane. At 1545, Wake County rescue located the downed airplane approximately 5 miles south of Raleigh-Durham Airport in a small lake within an apartment complex. The debris sank in water on the northwest side of the lake at a depth of about 8 feet. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane approach at a shallow angle and turn sideways before colliding with trees and then the lake.
Wreckage Examination
Examination of the wreckage site revealed freshly broken trees at the beginning of the debris path. Approximately 300 feet from the first broken tree, there was another tree with freshly broken branches and a ground scar along the shoreline of the lake. The inboard left wing assembly was separated at the mid-section and exhibited crush damage. Post-accident examination of the airframe and engine assembly did not reveal any flight control anomalies.