What happened
On the morning of February 16, 2005, a Cessna Citation 560, registered as N500AT, was performing an instrument landing system approach to runway 26R at Pueblo Memorial Airport in Colorado. The aircraft, which was being operated by Martinair, Inc. on behalf of Circuit City Stores, Inc., went down approximately 4 nautical miles east of the airport.
The flight was being conducted under instrument flight rules (IFR) in accordance with 14 CFR Part 91 regulations. At the time of the incident, the area was experiencing instrument meteorological conditions. The impact of the crash and a subsequent fire caused the total destruction of the airframe. There were eight fatalities recorded, consisting of the two crew members and six passengers.
Findings
At the time of the accident, the aircraft was operating in weather conditions that required the use of instruments for navigation and approach. The crash occurred during the approach phase of the flight.