What happened
During a scheduled Part 135 checkride intended to certify a pilot-in-command and a second-in-command, an aircraft crashed into terrain approximately 5 miles west of the airport. An FAA inspector was present in the cabin as an observer during the flight. The flight sequence began with the completion of an ILS approach to runway 02, after which the crew was authorized to perform a circling maneuver to land on runway 15.
During the maneuver, the aircraft was observed flying over runway 15 while positioned for runway 20. Air traffic control notified the pilot of this alignment and provided the choice to land on either runway 15 or runway 20. The pilot chose to proceed with the landing on runway 15 and was cleared for a right downwind pattern. During this phase, the aircraft struck a hill near its crest at an elevation of 6,870 feet. The published minimum descent altitude for the ILS runway 02 approach was 6,860 feet. There were four fatalities among the occupants.
Findings
Local pilots noted that the area of the crash site suffered from a complete lack of visual references. The impact occurred at an altitude slightly above the published minimum descent altitude for the approach being utilized.