Accident Details
On a night flight from Buenos Aires-Aeroparque-Jorge Newbury Airport, a charter aircraft departed at 2253 LT bound for San Carlos de Bariloche. While conducting an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 28, the crew experienced technical problems with the ILS reception. The captain decided to initiate a go-around procedure.
Sequence of Events
Minutes after the go-around, the crew began a descent prematurely. The rate of descent was 2,200 feet per minute, significantly higher than the required 750 feet per minute. This caused the aircraft to descend below the minimum descent altitude. The aircraft subsequently collided with terrain approximately 21 kilometers east of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed. All five crew members and 41 passengers were killed; 33 other occupants sustained injuries.
Probable Cause
The accident was caused by the collision of the aircraft with the ground during the final approach to Bariloche runway after an improper and premature descent which was below safety limits. The accident can be attributed to a procedural error by the crew during the final approach in that they abandoned the ILS procedure, an action strongly and unduly influenced by the interruption of the VOR signal and also probably by the state of mind of the pilot-in-command.