What happened
During an approach for runway 11 using the localizer, an aircraft impacted an open field located roughly one mile northeast of the airport. The impact occurred approximately 600 feet to the left of the departure end runway centerline. An eyewitness observed the plane at a very low altitude, estimated between 50 and 100 feet, for a duration of about three seconds. The observer noted that the aircraft did not appear to be experiencing mechanical issues before it turned left toward the north and struck the ground with its left wing.
At the time of the incident, the local automated weather observing system (AWOS) was functional but required a telephone call to access. Consequently, air traffic control was unable to relay the most recent local conditions to the pilot. Instead, the pilot was provided with weather data from Evansville, Indiana, which reported 5 miles of visibility with light rain and fog. However, the actual conditions at the Olney airport were significantly worse, featuring a 100-foot overcast ceiling and visibility of only 3/4 mile.
Findings
- The pilot was operating under weather information that did not reflect the actual local conditions at the airport.
- The discrepancy between the reported Evansville weather and the actual local visibility contributed to the flight conditions during the approach.