What happened
On August 5, 2013, a Beech King Air B200, registration TF-MYX, was performing a positioning flight from Reykjavík to Akureyri after completing an air ambulance mission. During the approach to Akureyri Airport, the flight crew requested permission to overfly the local town to view an ongoing event at a nearby automobile racetrack.
As the aircraft approached the racetrack area, the crew attempted a low-altitude pass. To align the aircraft with the track, the pilot executed a steep left turn. During this maneuver, the aircraft's altitude decreased rapidly, leading to a collision with the ground at the racetrack. The impact destroyed the aircraft and resulted in two fatalities and one serious injury.
The investigation
The Icelandic Transportation Safety Board (ITSB) examined the flight path, aircraft performance, and crew actions. The investigation utilized video analysis and simulator flight testing to reconstruct the maneuver. Investigators established that the flight crew had decided to deviate from the planned route to perform the flyby, a maneuver that was not sufficiently planned and fell outside the scope of the operator's approved manuals.
Technical analysis of the flight path revealed that the aircraft reached a maximum bank angle of approximately 72.9 degrees, which exceeded the aircraft's maneuvering limits. The investigation also looked into the crew's communication and coordination during this unplanned phase of flight.