The airplane was substantially damaged and both aboard were fatally injured at about 1209 Eastern time after impacting terrain during an approach to the Leesburg Executive Airport in Leesburg, Va. Widespread instrument conditions prevailed for the flight from Wilmington, N.C. Earlier, the pilot had attempted the Localizer Runway 17 approach at Leesburg, which resulted in a missed approach. During a second attempt at the approach, the airplane impacted trees about 4.5 miles from the Runway 17 threshold. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the pilots altimeter displayed a reading of 190 feet; its Kollsman window displayed an altimeter setting of 29.83 inches of mercury. Weather reported at Leesburg, at 1201, included 10 statute miles of visibility an overcast cloud layer at 300 feet agl and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of mercury. The airport elevation at Leesburg is 389 feet msl.
November 24, 2004, Paeonian Spring, Va. / Cessna 310R
The airplane was substantially damaged and both aboard were fatally injured at about 1209 Eastern time after impacting terrain during an approach to the Leesburg Executive Airport in Leesburg, Va. Widespread instrument conditions prevailed for the flight from Wilmington, N.C. Earlier, the pilot had attempted the Localizer Runway 17 approach at Leesburg, which resulted in a missed approach. During a second attempt at the approach, the airplane impacted trees about 4.5 miles from the Runway 17 threshold. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the pilots altimeter displayed a reading of 190 feet; its Kollsman window displayed an altimeter setting of 29.83 inches of mercury. Weather reported...
Key Takeaways:
- An airplane crashed during its second instrument approach to Leesburg Executive Airport in widespread instrument conditions, resulting in two fatalities and substantial damage.
- The aircraft impacted trees about 4.5 miles from the runway, after an initial missed approach due to an overcast cloud layer at 300 feet AGL.
- Examination revealed the pilot's altimeter was incorrectly set to 29.83 inches of mercury instead of the reported 29.80, potentially contributing to the premature descent; the altimeter displayed 190 feet at the wreckage site, significantly below the airport's 389 feet MSL elevation.
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