What happened
During an approach to an uncontrolled airport with an elevation of 941 feet msl, the crew was executing an NDB approach. The flight was operating under conditions with a visibility of one mile and an overcast ceiling of 300 feet. While the pilots were required to maintain a minimum descent altitude (MDA) of 1,540 feet until the runway became visible, the aircraft struck the top of a hill at an elevation of 990 feet msl. This impact occurred approximately four miles from the destination airport, despite earlier communications from ATC indicating the aircraft was 15 miles out.
The collision resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft due to the force of the impact and subsequent fire. No mechanical issues were identified or reported by the crew prior to the accident. There were no survivors reported from the crash.
Findings
Investigations into the accident highlighted several environmental and procedural factors. The weather conditions significantly restricted visibility, which is a critical factor in instrument approaches. A primary contributing factor was the absence of a local altimeter setting, which caused the actual MDA to be 240 feet higher than intended. This discrepancy in altitude information contributed to the aircraft descending below the required safety altitude before the runway was in sight.