At about 19:50 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T struck the ground while on approach to Mercer County Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot was flying the airplane from Lewisburg, where it had gotten its annual inspection. When he arrived at Bluefield, the ASOS was reporting a ceiling of 100 feet with fog. He shot the approach anyway, but missed it. He attempted a second ILS and missed that one, too. He was about to divert to another airport when an employee of the Bluefield FBO asked over the radio if he would like the approach lights turned up. He decided to try a third approach. As he was looking for the lights, he descended into trees and crashed.
Jan. 19, Bluefield, W.V. / Piper Seneca
At about 19:50 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T struck the ground while on approach to Mercer County Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot was flying the airplane from Lewisburg, where it had gotten its annual inspection. When he arrived at Bluefield, the ASOS was reporting a ceiling of 100 feet with fog. He shot the approach anyway, but missed it. He attempted a second ILS and missed that one, too. He was about to divert to another airport when an employee of the Bluefield FBO asked over the radio if he would like the approach lights turned up. He decided to try a third approach. As he was looking for the lights, he descended into trees and crashed....
Key Takeaways:
- A Piper PA-34-200T crashed at Mercer County Airport during its third instrument approach in adverse weather conditions (100 ft ceiling, fog).
- The pilot had previously missed two ILS approaches and was about to divert when an FBO employee offered to turn up the approach lights.
- During this third attempt, the pilot descended into trees while searching for the lights, resulting in a crash, though the pilot was uninjured.
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