Pilot Diverted To Alternate Airport After Missed Approach

Editor's Note: The following is the unedited NTSB Preliminary Report on a January 4 accident near Columbia (SC) Metropolitan Airport, that claimed the lives of the three people onboard.

NTSB Identification: ATL07FA031
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, January 04, 2007 in Columbia, SC
Aircraft: Cessna 182P, registration: N55YS
Injuries: 3 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On January 4, 2007, at 2337 eastern standard time, a Cessna 182P [file photo of type, below], N55YS, registered to Four Seasons LLC, operated by M.B. Kahn Construction Company Inc., as a 14 CFR Part 91 business flight, collided with trees and the ground, while maneuvering during an instrument approach, in the vicinity of Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Columbia, South Carolina. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan (IFR) was filed. The airplane was destroyed. The airline transport rated pilot, and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated from Newport News Williamsburg International Airport, Newport News, Virginia, on January 4, 2007, at 2028.

Personnel from the FAA Columbia Approach Control stated the pilot was cleared for a Localizer Runway 31 approach at Columbia Owens Downtown Airport, Columbia, South Carolina, at 2316. The pilot made a missed approach and diverted to his alternate airport at 2320. The pilot was then radar vectored for the ILS Runway 11 approach at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, and was cleared for the ILS Runway 11 approach at 2331. The pilot acknowledged the clearance at 2332 and was instructed to contact the FAA Columbia Metropolitan Airport Air Traffic Control Tower. The pilot acknowledged the instructions and no further contact was established between the pilot and air traffic control (ATC). ATC received six low altitude-warning alerts from the radar system and lost radar contact with the airplane at 2337.

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport, ATC Control Tower personnel notified the fire department that radar contact had been lost with the Cessna 182 about 1 mile west of runway 11. Three fire department units were dispatched in a dense fog to search for the missing airplane, which was unsuccessful. A command post/staging area was set up, search grids were established for responding law enforcement personnel, and a foot search was initiated. A runway and ramp check was initiated which was unsuccessful. A State Law Enforcement Detachment helicopter arrived on scene on January 5, 2007, and the helicopter pilot located the wreckage at about 0630.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov