What happened
On a flight departing from Port-Menier for Seven Islands, the crew of a Beechcraft 1900 attempted to execute a straight-in GPS approach to runway 31. This specific approach was not officially published for the airport. During the descent from cruise altitude, the flight crew initiated their descent late, causing the aircraft to maintain excessive speed and altitude while approaching the NDB.
As the aircraft reached 10,000 feet at a distance of 9 nm from the beacon, the rate of descent was measured at over 3,000 fpm. The aircraft subsequently crossed the NDB at an altitude of only 600 feet asl. During the final 30 seconds of the flight, the aircraft maintained a steady descent of roughly 850 fpm with full flaps extended.
Despite the GPWS issuing "Minimums" warnings, the captain instructed the crew to continue a slow descent. The final altitude call was recorded at 30 feet, just 1.2 seconds before the aircraft struck trees in an area of rising terrain. The impact occurred while the aircraft was in a near-level attitude. The crash resulted in all occupants being killed. A post-crash fire consumed the wings, the right engine, and part of the fuselage, though the cabin area remained largely intact while the cockpit was crushed.
Findings
Investigation into the flight path revealed that the crew attempted to utilize a non-existent GPS approach for the active runway. The late initiation of the descent phase led to the aircraft being too high and too fast during the approach to the NDB.