Accident Overview
An aircraft conducting a flight inspection of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at Winchester Regional Airport crashed into the slope of Mt Knob, resulting in the death of all three occupants. The airplane had departed Winchester Regional Airport under visual flight rules (VFR) and was en route to Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF), Virginia, after completing the inspection.
Flight Details
The flight was a routine point-to-point operation. After takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the crew requested permission to climb. Air traffic control (ATC) denied the request due to traffic. The aircraft was awaiting an IFR clearance at the time of the accident.
Accident Sequence
While awaiting clearance and maintaining 2,000 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Knob, located approximately 30 miles southwest of Winchester Regional Airport. The impact was fatal to all three occupants.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause to be the failure of the pilot-in-command to ensure that the airplane remained in visual meteorological conditions over mountainous terrain, and the failure of Federal Aviation Administration executives and managers responsible for the FAA flying program to: (1) establish effective and accountable leadership and oversight of flying operations; (2) establish minimum mission and operational performance standards; (3) recognize and address performance-related problems among the organization's pilots; and (4) remove from flight operations duty pilots who were not performing to standards.