What happened
On the morning of the accident, a twin-engine aircraft departed from Panama City-Marcos A. Gelabert Airport at 06:56 local time, bound for Bocas del Toro. The flight was carrying a total of 18 people, consisting of 16 passengers and two pilots. While runway 26 was the designated runway at the destination, the captain elected to perform an IFR approach to runway 08.
During the approach phase, the flight crew experienced significant issues regarding flight rules and coordination. The crew transitioned from IFR to VFR flight rules despite the presence of adverse weather, before subsequently reverting to IFR procedures. During this sequence, the pilot-in-command proceeded with the approach without achieving visual contact with the runway. The right main landing gear made contact with the ground approximately 32 metres before the runway threshold. Following the impact, the aircraft traveled an additional 193 metres along the runway surface before veering left and coming to a stop in a nearby wooded area.
Findings
Investigations into the accident highlighted inconsistent transitions between IFR and VFR flight rules and a lack of coordination among the crew as primary contributing factors. The decision to continue the approach without visual contact with the runway threshold led to the undershoot. While all 16 passengers survived the impact without injury, both pilots sustained injuries. The aircraft was determined to be a total loss due to damage sustained during the crash.