What happened
On a night cargo flight operating under instrument flight rules, a Dassault-Breguet Falcon 20E was traveling from Detroit Willow Run, Michigan, to Peterborough, Ontario. While approaching Peterborough Airport via a non-directional beacon runway 09 approach, the crew initially failed to locate the runway environment, necessitating a missed approach. Following instructions from the Toronto Area Control Centre, the crew attempted the same approach a second time and successfully identified the runway.
During the second attempt, the aircraft touched down near the middle of runway 09. The pilot flying decided to abort the landing and initiated a left visual circuit to try again. As the aircraft was transitioning onto the final leg of this circuit, the approach became unstabilized. In an attempt to overshoot, the aircraft experienced a nose-down pitch and a left bank, leading it to strike the ground. The aircraft traveled through a ploughed field for approximately 400 feet before hitting a tree line. The wreckage came to a stop roughly 2000 feet from the threshold of runway 09, positioned facing the opposite direction. While the aircraft sustained substantial damage, there were no serious injuries to those on board.
Findings
- The flight was operating in instrument meteorological conditions at night.
- The primary factor in the accident was an unstabilized approach during the second landing attempt.