What happened
On the morning of the accident, a non-scheduled cargo flight operated by Speed Air 960 departed Goose Bay for Davis Inlet, Newfoundland, under a visual flight rules flight plan. The crew had obtained weather updates via telephone and fax from the St. John's flight service station prior to departure. The aircraft, a cargo aircraft, began its flight at 0815 Atlantic standard time.
During the initial approach, the crew attempted to locate the surface through intermittent visual sightings of snow. After failing to establish the necessary visual references by the missed approach point, the pilot initiated a missed approach procedure. On the subsequent second approach, the pilot flew outbound from the beacon at 3000 feet above sea level before turning onto the inbound track. The crew decided that if the surface became visible at any point during the approach, they would proceed below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) of 1340 feet.
The pilot began a steady descent at roughly 1500 feet per minute with 10 degrees of flaps. Despite encountering whiteout conditions at the MDA, the pilot continued the descent. While the first officer briefly saw the ground, and the pilot gained visual contact 16 seconds before the accident, the aircraft struck the ice in controlled flight approximately two nautical miles from the airport. There were 0 fatalities reported in the source provided.
Findings
- The aircraft experienced airframe icing during both approach attempts.
- The wing de-icing systems were activated and operated as intended to remove ice.
- The pilot continued the descent below the minimum descent altitude during whiteout conditions in an attempt to establish visual contact with the surface.