What happened
On a late afternoon in Maine, a Downeast Airlines flight operating as flight 46 impacted a dense forest approximately 1.2 miles south-southwest of the Knox County Regional Airport. The accident occurred at roughly 20:55 local time while the aircraft was performing a non-precision instrument approach toward runway 03 under instrument meteorological conditions.
The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft. Of the 18 people on board, including 16 passengers and 2 crew members, there was only one survivor among the passengers.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified that the flightcrew failed to stop the descent of the aircraft at the minimum descent altitude required for the non-precision approach while the runway environment remained obscured. While the specific reason for the deviation from standard procedures could not be definitively established, several contributing elements were noted.
Key factors included the failure of the crew to arrest the descent at the appropriate altitude. Other contributing circumstances involved potential management pressures, insufficient instrument proficiency by the first officer, and a lack of adequate supervision by the captain. Additionally, investigators pointed to issues regarding crew training, flight procedures, and the chronic fatigue experienced by the captain.