History of Flight
On June 16, 2016, at 0830 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31-31-325, registration N3591P, was destroyed when it collided with terrain while on approach to University Park Airport (UNV), State College, Pennsylvania. The airline transport pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by Aeronational, Inc. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the on-demand air taxi flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 135. The flight departed Washington County Airport (AFJ), Washington, Pennsylvania, about 0800.
The passenger was a regular customer routinely flown to UNV, and the pilot was familiar with the route. Radar and voice communication data from the FAA showed that at 0824:35, ATC provided a heading to intercept the ILS RWY 24 approach and cleared the approach. At 0825:30, radar services were terminated, and the pilot was told to contact the tower. The pilot contacted the tower, received landing clearance, and acknowledged. No further communications were received despite multiple attempts. At 0843:50, an airport ground vehicle saw smoke in a wooded area about 1 mile northeast of the airport, later identified as the accident airplane.
Personnel Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued March 7, 2016, with a limitation valid through March 31, 2017. He reported 12,400 total flight hours, 350 in the previous 6 months. Company training records showed he completed required annual ground training and a competency check on January 18, 2016, in the accident airplane. Duty records indicated compliance with Part 135 flight and duty time requirements. The accident flight was his first after returning from one week of vacation.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was manufactured in 1980. Its most recent annual inspection was completed February 19, 2016, at 15,999.6 total aircraft hours, about 44 hours before the accident. It was equipped with a King KAP/KFC 200 flight control system (autopilot). The autopilot's approach mode captures localizer and glideslope when properly configured, with no published limitations on altitude above the glideslope or rate of descent for capture. A certification engineer stated a descent rate of 1,000 fpm was "normal" to capture from above. The operator's director of operations said the autopilot was unlikely to capture at rates greater than 500 fpm. It could not be determined if the autopilot was in use during the approach.
Meteorological Information
At 0853, weather at UNV included an overcast ceiling at 300 ft, calm wind, visibility 1 statute mile in mist, temperature 17°C, dew point 17°C, and altimeter 29.80 inHg. AIRMET Sierra for IMC and mountain obscuration was in effect.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was about 1 nautical mile from the threshold of runway 24 and about 2 nm beyond the final radar return, at an elevation of 1,200 ft mean sea level. The wreckage path extended about 450 ft on a magnetic heading of 223° in densely wooded terrain. Initial impact was in treetops about 70 ft above ground. Both wings were fragmented; engines and main landing gear separated. The fuselage and empennage came to rest upright. The instrument panel, cockpit, and cabin were destroyed by postcrash fire. Control continuity could not be established due to impact damage. Flap system and landing gear examination were consistent with 15° flap extension and gear down and locked. Propeller blades exhibited twisting, bending, gouging, and scratching consistent with contact. Both engines were damaged by impact and fire; preimpact anomalies were not found.
Additional Information
A performance study based on radar data showed that as the airplane crossed the precision final approach fix (PFAF) 6.7 nm from the threshold, it was 800 ft above the glideslope. At the PENUE locator outer marker (LOM) 5.5 nm out, it was 500 ft above. At last radar contact 3.2 nm out, it was about 250 ft above glideslope. At the LOM and last return, the airplane's position would have correlated to a full-downward glideslope deflection. During the last 2 minutes, descent rate increased from 400 fpm to over 1,700 fpm, briefly decreasing to 1,000 fpm before radar contact was lost. The operator's standard operating procedures stated that flight should be stabilized by 1,000 ft HAT in IMC and that an unexpected sustained descent rate over 1,000 fpm should prompt a missed approach.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy on the pilot reported the cause of death as thermal injuries. Toxicological testing was negative for ethanol, carbon monoxide, and all tested-for drugs. The pilot had a history of multiple sclerosis (diagnosed 2001) with persistent left leg weakness, for which he received a special-issuance medical certificate since 2002. A February 2016 neurologist report indicated unchanged status. At his most recent FAA medical examination, he reported new diagnoses of diabetes (diet-managed) and obstructive sleep apnea (managed with BiPAP).