What happened
During night operations, an aircraft was performing a localizer approach to runway 32 at Newnan-Coweta County Airport. Following an initial missed approach, the pilot requested and received radar vectors to intercept the final approach course for a second attempt at the same runway. Radar monitoring showed the aircraft proceeding toward the airport, but contact was lost when the plane reached approximately 4 nautical miles from the facility. At the moment of last radar detection, the aircraft was at an altitude of 1,600 feet MSL.
The aircraft subsequently struck trees measuring roughly 80 feet in height while it was established on the localizer for runway 32. The impact occurred approximately 1.3 nautical miles from the runway threshold. At the time of the accident, meteorological conditions included a cloud ceiling of only 200 feet AGL and visibility of 0.75 statute miles.
Findings
An investigation into the wreckage, including the engines, propellers, flight controls, and various aircraft systems, revealed no signs of mechanical malfunction or structural failure prior to the impact. The investigation determined that the pilot failed to maintain the minimum descent altitude during the execution of the localizer approach. Environmental factors, specifically low visibility, low cloud ceilings, and nighttime darkness, were also identified as contributing elements to the accident.