Accident Sequence
On March 14, a Piper Seneca 1 (C-GRFE) departed Calgary, Alberta, at 0755 mountain standard time on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight to Grande Prairie, Alberta. The aircraft carried four passengers and a pilot. As it neared destination, the pilot received clearance for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 29. Weather at Grande Prairie included a 200-foot ceiling and visibility of 1/4 statute mile in fog. During the approach, the aircraft descended, struck a lamp standard adjacent to a highway, entered a steep left turn, and struck the ground. The aircraft cartwheeled onto its nose and came to rest upright, facing the opposite direction. All five occupants were fatally injured.
Pilot Information
The pilot obtained a private pilot licence in December 1995 and later earned a commercial pilot licence with multi-engine, instrument, and class-four instructor ratings. Total flight time was 428 hours on single-engine and 60 hours on multi-engine aircraft, all in the Piper Seneca. The pilot had logged 46 hours of simulated instrument time and 2.3 hours of actual instrument time. At the time of the accident, the medical certificate had not been renewed for commercial privileges, but private pilot privileges remained valid. The flight was the pilot's first instrument approach in actual instrument meteorological conditions.
Aircraft Information
The Piper Seneca 1 (serial number 347350249) was operated by All West Air Services Ltd. as a training and charter aircraft. Records indicated the aircraft was certified, equipped, and maintained in accordance with regulations. Weight and center of gravity were within limits. The aircraft was not equipped or certified for flight into known icing conditions. The undercarriage and flaps were found retracted after the crash.
Weather Conditions
At the time of the accident, Grande Prairie Airport reported vertical visibility of 200 feet and visibility in fog. Earlier, at 0523, conditions were 400 feet overcast with 2 statute miles visibility in fog, deteriorating to 100 feet vertical visibility and 1/4 mile by 0700. The terminal forecast did not indicate the rapid deterioration. Two earlier aircraft had attempted the same ILS approach, entered cloud at 900 feet above ground level, and executed missed approaches at decision height; this information was not relayed to the accident pilot.
Investigation Details
Radar data showed the pilot was not accurately tracking the localizer after passing the outer marker, with turns left and right during descent. The rate of descent appeared normal. The aircraft struck a lamp standard at about 18 feet above ground level on the left side, causing a steep left turn. The left wing then struck the ground in a near-90-degree roll. The wreckage trail indicated the aircraft was likely initiating an overshoot just before impact. The investigation could not determine why the pilot descended below decision height or why the approach was conducted in the prevailing conditions.