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Grand Rapids-Gerald R. Ford International Airport, MI (GRR/KGRR)
Destination airport:
Tea, SD (Y14)
Investigating agency:
NTSB
Confidence Rating:
Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative: The pilot and passenger were on a cross-country flight and an instrument flight rules approach in instrument meteorological conditions. According to air traffic control transcripts, an air traffic controller at the destination airport cleared the flight for the RNAV approach for runway 33. According to ADS-B flight track data, the airplane then turned toward the final approach path just inside the initial approach fix at 3,100 ft mean sea level (msl) and 156 knots calibrated airspeed (KCAS). Subsequently, the airplane proceeded west of the final approach centerline, turned back through the centerline to the east, and then back to the west, resembling s-turns through the extended centerline. During the s-turns across the extended centerline, the controller cleared the airplane to land. Two minutes later, the airplane was about 3,000 ft msl and 78 KCAS, and then began to rapidly descend. According to a witness and video footage of the accident, the airplane descended in a steep, nose-down attitude. The witness added that it appeared that he then “saw airplane try to pull out of a dive” just before it impacted the ground. The airplane impacted trees and a building and then came to rest in a residential neighborhood about 200 ft south of the last radar location. The airplane was massively fragmented and a postimpact fire ensued. Impact and fire damage precluded a thorough examination and functional testing of the related airplane systems. Examination of both engines and propeller assemblies revealed signatures consistent with symmetric power development at the time of the accident
Probable Cause and Findings The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the instrument approach which led to an aerodynamic stall.