At 0935 eastern time, a Beechcraft B200 struck a building while on approach to Fitchburg Municipal Airport, killing the two pilots and four passengers, and leaving one passenger seriously injured. One person inside the building received minor injuries. The airplane had been cleared for the GPS RWY 14 approach into Fitchburg. The airplanes radar track showed the airplane flew the approach accurately up to the point where it crossed the missed approach point. At that point, the pilot apparently flew a circling approach to runway 32 from very close to the runway. A witness said the airplane banked 90 degrees in a continuous turn from downwind to final at about 450 feet agl until the airplane stalled and dove to the ground.
April 04, Leominster, Mass. / Beechcraft King Air
At 0935 eastern time, a Beechcraft B200 struck a building while on approach to Fitchburg Municipal Airport, killing the two pilots and four passengers, and leaving one passenger seriously injured. One person inside the building received minor injuries. The airplane had been cleared for the GPS RWY 14 approach into Fitchburg. The airplanes radar track showed the airplane flew the approach accurately up to the point where it crossed the missed approach point. At that point, the pilot apparently flew a circling approach to runway 32 from very close to the runway. A witness said the airplane banked 90 degrees in a continuous turn from downwind to final at about 450 feet agl until the airplane s...
Key Takeaways:
- A Beechcraft B200 crashed into a building near Fitchburg Municipal Airport, killing six people (two pilots, four passengers) and injuring two others (one seriously, one minor).
- The aircraft initially flew a cleared GPS approach but then attempted an aggressive circling approach to a different runway at a low altitude (450 feet AGL), which a witness described as a continuous 90-degree bank leading to a stall and dive.
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