What happened
During an instrument flight rules (IFR) descent toward the Patterson area, the pilot was instructed to enter a holding pattern and was notified that they would be following another aircraft for the approach to Patterson Airport. After a brief period of waiting, the pilot inquired about the expected delay duration before deciding to cancel the IFR flight plan and proceed under visual flight rules (VFR).
A pilot departing from the same airport observed a Mitsubishi aircraft announcing its position at the base leg of the traffic pattern for runway 05. However, this pilot was unable to visually locate the aircraft on the base leg and attempted to contact them via radio without success. The aircraft subsequently struck trees while flying on a heading of approximately 225°. At the time of impact, the landing gear had been deployed and the flaps were extended to roughly 5°. The accident resulted in three fatalities.
Findings
Investigation into the crash identified several contributing elements. The aircraft was operating under low ceiling weather conditions at the time of the event. Additionally, the pilot in command misjudged the aircraft's altitude during the approach phase, leading to the collision with the trees.