NavComm May Have Been Set Incorrectly

New information from the NTSB may shed more light on a mishap involving a Gulfstream Aerospace G-III indicates the flight crew may have dialed in the wrong navaid on approach to Houston Hobby Airport.

Transcripts of the cockpit voice recorder indicate the aircraft, which was on its way to pick up former President George Bush for a trip to Ecuador, was on the wrong approach -- about 500 feet left of the runway and approximately 1,000 feet low. There was heavy fog and moderate turbulence at the time of the accident, early in the morning on November 22, 2004.

"The only confusion, the critical confusion, in an instrument approach, is whether the navigation aids are set to the right frequency, or in the right mode, whether they're getting the proper indication in the cockpit on where they are in reference to the runway," retired General Charles Bolden told KTRK-TV in Houston.

Boldin said the cockpit crew -- led by a captain with 67-year old captain with approximately 19,000 flight hours logged -- responded to the situation by the book. But it was too late, he said. The aircraft impacted a light pole along Beltway 8 south of Hobby, crashed and burned. All three crew members on board were killed.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov