Downeast Airlines Flight 46 Crash in Rockland, Maine (N68DE)

Accident Overview and Location Details Downeast Airlines Flight 46 crashed into a heavily wooded area approximately 1.2 miles south-southwest of the Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine. The accident occurred at approximately 2055 local time while the aircraft was conducting a non-precision instrument approach to runway 03 in instrument meteorological conditions. The impact destroyed the aircraft, and of the 16 passengers and 2 crew members on board, only one passenger survived the accident. ## Official Probable Cause and Contributing Factors The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the flightcrew's failure to arrest the aircraft's descent at the minimum descent altitude for the non-precision approach, without the runway environment in sight, for unknown reasons. Although the Safety Board was unable to conclusively determine the specific reasons for the flightcrew's deviation from standard instrument approach procedures, it believed that several factors contributed to the accident. These included inordinate management pressures, the first officer's marginal instrument proficiency, the captain's inadequate supervision of the flight, inadequate crew training and procedures, and the captain's chronic fatigue.