De Havilland DHC-6-200 accident near Raleigh, NC
On July 31, 2000, a De Havilland DHC-6-200 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Raleigh, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 31, 2000
- Place
- Raleigh, NC
- Aircraft
- De Havilland DHC-6-200 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.850°N, 78.751°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21533
NTSB summary
HISTORY 0F FLIGHT On July 31, 2000, about 0034 eastern daylight time (all times are EDT unless otherwise indicated), a DeHavilland Canada DHC-6-200, N201RH, registered to Win Win Aviation Inc., impacted with trees while maneuvering for a landing at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh, North Carolina. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. A visual flight rule (VFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight. The airplane was destroyed. The commercial-rated pilot received fatal injuries. Two passengers reported serious injuries. The flight had departed Hinckley, Illinois, en route to Louisburg, North Carolina, about 1910 central daylight time (CDT). According to a surviving passenger, the purpose of the flight was to bring the airplane to a maintenance facility at Louisburg, to have maintenance performed on the engines. A visual approach was made at Louisburg, but a landing was not completed because of poor visibility due to ground fog. According to the statement of the passenger that was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, "...after trying unsuccessfully to land at 00NC and Franklin County Airport. We were trying to locate RDU. All we could see were city lights and darkness underneath us. We were in a right turn, when I saw the trees and subsequently hit it. I was knocked out for a second and then found myself hanging in the [seat] harness. I undid it and exited the aircraft." The female passenger was asleep on the floor at the rear of the cabin, there were no seats, and woke up after the impact outside the airplane
Probable cause
the pilot's continued VFR flight into IMC conditions, by failing to maintain altitude, and descending from VFR conditions into IMC, which resulted in him subsequently impacting with trees. Factors in this accident were: reduced visibility due to dark night and fog. An additional factor was the pilot was not certified for instrument flight.
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Browse: North Carolina · De Havilland aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
