Flight Descent
After an uneventful flight, the flight crew of a twin-engine business jet began descending for landing at a destination airport located on a mountain ridge. The runway was 5,600 ft long. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) indicated that the pilot-in-command (PIC) was flying, while the second-in-command (SIC) was monitoring. Air traffic control (ATC) provided the local altimeter setting as the crew started their descent from cruise altitude, approximately 24 minutes before the accident. About 12 minutes later, the crew reported obtaining weather information at the destination. Shortly thereafter, ATC cleared the crew to an intermediate fix on the instrument landing system (ILS) approach, instructing them to cross at or above 6,100 ft mean sea level (msl). The crew acknowledged and turned toward the final approach course.
Approach and Impact
About two minutes later, the controller queried the crew about their altitude, stating the airplane was observed at 5,900 ft msl. The crew responded that they were at the assigned altitude and continued. The CVR did not record any crosscheck or verification of altimeter settings, nor an approach briefing. The controller's observation suggested the crew did not reset the altimeter setting during the descent. As the crew approached the final approach fix, the SIC asked the PIC if he wanted the flight guidance system (FGS) set to vertical speed (VS) mode, which the PIC confirmed. In VS mode, the autopilot maintains a set descent rate regardless of glideslope position. When nearing the final approach course, the SIC stated that FLOC was captured on both sides, likely referencing a flight management system (FMS)-generated final approach course rather than the ILS localizer. If the ILS frequency had been tuned, the display should have shown LOC.
About 7 miles from the runway, the crew began configuring for landing. The PIC and SIC both reported having the airport in sight. Crossing the final approach fix, the PIC started a descent, and the SIC extended the landing gear. No autopilot mode change was mentioned; the descent likely continued in VS mode. The PIC called for the before-landing checklist, which the SIC completed, noting that the airplane was below glideslope. About 1.5 nautical miles from the runway, the SIC reported full deflection below glideslope. Shortly after, the SIC announced the airplane was 15 knots above reference speed. About 30 seconds before impact, the PIC turned off the autopilot. Following the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) 1,000-ft annunciation, the SIC suggested a go-around; the PIC did not respond. The SIC again called for a go-around just before the 500-ft annunciation; again, the PIC did not respond. About three seconds later, the airplane impacted rising terrain about 300 ft before the runway threshold. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. All five occupants were killed.
Crew and Passengers
The pilots were Claudio Colmenares (PIC) and Gagan Reddy (SIC). Passengers included SkyJet Elite's CEO Alfredo Diez, Kseniia Shanina, and Nicholas Diez.
Probable Cause
The investigation determined the probable cause to be: The PIC’s continuation of an unstabilized approach in gusting wind conditions and his failure to monitor the airplane’s altitude during the approach, which led to a descent into terrain short of the runway. Contributing was the flight crew’s failure to set the appropriate altimeter setting and failure to properly configure the avionics for the ILS approach.