Charlotte/Douglas Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Charlotte, North Carolina 28208
Wednesday, December 10, 1997 23:21 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Following a missed approach at the destination, the pilot requested weather information for two nearby airports. One airport was 53 miles northeast with a cloud ceiling of 900 feet, and visibility 6 miles. The pilot opted for the accident airport, 21 miles southwest, with an indefinite ceiling of zero, & visibility 1/4 mile. After completing the second missed approach, the flight proceeded to the accident airport. Radar vectors were provided to the ILS runway 36L. On the final approach, the flight veered to the right of the localizer and descended abruptly. Last recorded altitude for the flight was below the decision height. Investigation revealed no anomalies with the airport navigational aids for the approach, and the airplane's navigation receivers were found to be operational. Postmortem examinations of the pilot did not reveal any pre-existing diseases, and toxicological examinations were negative for alcohol & other drugs.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's continued approach below decision height without reference to the runway environment, and his failure to execute a missed approach.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/10/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2321
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City CHARLOTTE
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28208
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CHARLOTTE/DOUGLAS INTL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CLT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 749
Weather Briefing Completeness Partial - limited by pilot
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2328 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID CLT
Elevation of weather observation facility 749
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Obscured
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 1800
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0.4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1542
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 11 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 25
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:42PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N30SA
NTSB Number ATL98FA023
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model A100
Aircraft Series Identifier A100
Aircraft Serial Number B246
Certified Max Gross Weight 11868
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 10
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Oct 14 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 23
Airframe Hours 6575
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SPTIFIRE SALES AND LEASING,INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address POST OFFICE BOX 2105
Aircraft Owner City GOLDSBORO
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 27533
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code S1FA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LWB
Departure City LEWISBURG
Departure State WV
Departure Country
Departure Time 2200
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code JQF
Destination City CONCORD
Destination State NC
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36L
Runway Length 10000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --