What happened
During a night approach under instrument meteorological conditions, an aircraft struck the ground approximately 3.2 nautical miles from the runway threshold. At the time of the impact, the weather consisted of 200-foot overcast ceilings and 1.5 miles of visibility due to falling snow, with wind gusts reaching 32 knots. The terrain in the vicinity was flat and covered in snow. The pilot, who was flying the aircraft without autopilot assistance, was executing a localizer approach with a minimum descent altitude of 560 feet MSL. The pilot stated that while he believed he was established on the final approach course and descending toward the MDA, he subsequently lost consciousness or awareness, reporting that he "woke up in the snow." No mechanical issues or malfunctions were identified in the aircraft following the investigation.
Findings
Investigation into the circumstances revealed significant concerns regarding pilot fatigue. The pilot had completed a previous flight at 07:25 and had undergone three rest periods totaling only 11 hours and 15 minutes of rest since the prior night's operations. Notably, each of these rest intervals was interrupted by communications from the company. The investigation noted that the pilot's rest periods did not meet the requirements of 14 CFR 135.267, which mandates at least 10 consecutive hours of rest in the 24 hours preceding an assignment. Inadequate restorative rest due to interrupted sleep was a critical factor in the pilot's loss of situational awareness during the approach.