ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 99 Airliner N300WP Auburn Airport, ME (LEW)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Sunday 25 August 1985
Time:22:05
Type:Silhouette image of generic BE99 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Beechcraft 99 Airliner
Operator:Bar Harbor Airlines
Registration: N300WP
MSN: U- 22
First flight: 1968
Total airframe hrs:30335
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Total:Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1,6 km (1 mls) SW of Auburn Airport, ME (LEW) (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Boston-Logan International Airport, MA (BOS/KBOS), United States of America
Destination airport:Auburn Airport, ME (LEW/KLEW), United States of America
Flightnumber:1808
Narrative:
Flight 1808 took off from Boston runway 04L at 21:30 for a flight to Auburn. Clearance was received of 7000 feet and to contact Portland Approach Control.
Portland Approach cleared Flight 1808 at 21:58 for a runway 04 ILS approach. Three minutes later the controller noticed that Flight 1808 was east of course and asked if the it was receiving the Lewiston localizer. The captain replied that they hadn't and were given instructions to turn left heading 340. A left turn to 354deg started and the aircraft passed Lewie Outer Marker (LOM) at 165 knots, 2600 feet (30 knots too fast and 600 feet too high). At 22:02 the aircraft exited the left side of the localizer, still at a 354deg heading. The crew then tried to capture the glide slope and enter the localizer again until it entered the left side of the localizer (22:04:08) and descended through the bottom boundary of the glide slope. At ca 22:04:16 the aircraft struck trees 4007 feet short of the runway and 440 feet right of the extended centreline, continued 737 feet and struck level ground in nearly an inverted attitude.
One of the passengers killed in the crash was American schoolgirl, peace activist and child actress Samantha Smith.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain's continuation of an unstabilized approach which resulted in a descent below glide slope. Contributing to the unstabilized approach was the radar controller's issuance and the captain's acceptance of a non-standard air traffic control radar vector resulting in an excessive intercept with the localizer."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 1 months
Accident number: NTSB/AAR-86-06
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Landing after unstabilized approach
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Ground

Sources:
» NTSB Safety Recommendations A-86-98 through -122
» NTSB/AAR-86/06


Follow-up / safety actions

NTSB issued 25 Safety Recommendations

Show all...

Photos

photo of Beechcraft-99-
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Boston-Logan International Airport, MA to Auburn Airport, ME as the crow flies is 195 km (122 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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