Accident Overview
On a flight from Panama City-Marcos A. Gelabert Airport to Bocas del Toro, a twin-engine airplane departed at 0656 local time with 16 passengers and two pilots aboard. The destination runway 26 was active, but the captain opted to land on runway 08 and initiated an instrument flight rules (IFR) approach.
Approach and Landing
During the approach, the crew demonstrated a lack of coordination and poor decision-making by switching from IFR to visual flight rules (VFR) despite poor weather conditions, then switching back to IFR. Without establishing visual contact with the runway, the pilot-in-command continued the approach. The right main landing gear struck the ground 32 meters short of the runway threshold. The airplane continued for 193 meters, then veered off the runway to the left and came to rest in a wooded area.
Injuries and Damage
All 16 passengers escaped without injury, while both pilots were injured. The airplane sustained damage beyond repair.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause stated that the accident was influenced by the crew's failure to make a decision when performing an approach with visibility outside accepted limits, and not executing a missed approach to try again under better conditions. Contributing factors included: not taking precautions under atmospheric conditions of cloudiness around the runway and not following instrument flight rules; flying in atmospheric conditions with poor visual approach; not being aligned with the runway; not following procedures in IFR conditions and switching to VFR then back to IFR with poor coordination; descending below established minimums without visual contact with the runway; and poor cockpit coordination among the crew members in command of the aircraft.