History of the Flight
The aircraft, a Cessna 402B operated by Air Satellite as flight 638, departed Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight to Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec, carrying a load of mail. At 6,000 feet above sea level, meteorological conditions were visual (VMC). About 35 nautical miles from Havre-Saint-Pierre, the pilot began descent. At 25 nautical miles from the airport and 5,000 feet altitude, the pilot contacted the Sept-Îles Flight Service Station (FSS) via the remote communications outlet (RCO) and received a weather report issued three hours earlier indicating VMC. The pilot could see the town of Havre-Saint-Pierre when commencing the back course approach for runway 27.
During descent, the aircraft flew into snow showers. The pilot contacted the company and was told there was light snow. He continued the approach to the minimum descent altitude (MDA) of 420 feet asl. Moderate turbulence occurred. While attempting to obtain more detailed weather, the aircraft banked right; the pilot corrected, and the wheels touched the ground. The aircraft crashed and slid on its belly about 100 feet before coming to rest on marshy ground about 1.5 nautical miles from the threshold of runway 27. The accident occurred at night, around 1714 eastern standard time. The pilot remained in radio contact and stayed aboard until rescuers arrived. Search and rescue crews initially could not locate the aircraft due to rough terrain and reduced visibility; a Search and Rescue helicopter found it five hours later using a direction finder. The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was weak but readable.
Injuries and Damage
The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the landing gear, engines, propellers, and structure. It also uprooted a few bushes.
Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 22, held a commercial pilot licence and had 689 total flying hours, with 29 hours on type. He was certified and qualified for the flight, having passed his pilot proficiency check and instrument flight rating on the Cessna 402B on 04 November 1994. He was a qualified pilot-in-command. The company operations manual and Air Navigation Orders specified that as a sole pilot, he was not authorized to descend below alternate weather minima at destination (1,600 feet asl, visibility three miles). The pilot was not fully aware of this limitation.
Meteorological Information
At departure, weather and forecast for Havre-Saint-Pierre were VMC. En route, the pilot flew at night in VMC until encountering snow showers. The automated weather observation system (AWOS) at Havre-Saint-Pierre transmitted a sequence at 1400 indicating scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, visibility over nine miles, and winds from 290° at 25 knots gusting to 35 knots. Due to a computer glitch, no further data was transmitted until 1735, about 20 minutes after the accident, when the AWOS reported visibility 0.7 miles in light snow. The pilot used an altimeter setting from the 1400 report, which was 180 minutes old; the difference from the actual setting was 0.02 inches of mercury (20 feet).
Wreckage and Impact Information
The aircraft touched down horizontally with landing gear extended about 1.5 miles from the runway threshold at an elevation of 124 feet asl. Both altimeters had been recently calibrated with error under 50 feet; no deficiencies were reported.
Probable Cause
The Board determined that the pilot continued the descent below the minimum descent altitude without the required visual references.