At approximately 09:51 Pacific time, a Cessna 208B operating as a FedEx cargo flight crashed in the woods on Lummi Island, killing the pilot. The flight had departed Bellingham on a Special VFR clearance bound for Orcas Island approximately eight minutes prior to the accident. Weather at the time was ceiling 500 feet broken, two miles visibility in mist. The company reported the flight was a VFR flight because no instrument approach is published for Orcas Island. Mode C returns put the airplanes altitude at about 600 feet throughout the flight. A witness reported seeing the airplane over the water at 50 to 100 feet, going in and out of the clouds. The accident site was about 220 feet msl.
Oct. 9, Lummi Island, Wash. / Cessna Caravan
At approximately 09:51 Pacific time, a Cessna 208B operating as a FedEx cargo flight crashed in the woods on Lummi Island, killing the pilot. The flight had departed Bellingham on a Special VFR clearance bound for Orcas Island approximately eight minutes prior to the accident. Weather at the time was ceiling 500 feet broken, two miles visibility in mist. The company reported the flight was a VFR flight because no instrument approach is published for Orcas Island. Mode C returns put the airplanes altitude at about 600 feet throughout the flight. A witness reported seeing the airplane over the water at 50 to 100 feet, going in and out of the clouds. The accident site was about 220 feet msl....
Key Takeaways:
- A FedEx cargo flight (Cessna 208B) crashed on Lummi Island, killing the pilot, shortly after departing Bellingham under a Special VFR clearance for Orcas Island.
- The accident occurred in poor weather conditions, with a 500-foot ceiling and two miles visibility in mist.
- The aircraft maintained a low altitude, approximately 600 feet, throughout the flight, with a witness observing it as low as 50-100 feet over water before the crash.
- The company classified the flight as VFR due to the absence of a published instrument approach for the destination, Orcas Island.
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