2004 — Oct 24, Hendrick Motorsports missed approach crash into mt., Stuart, VA –10

— 10  Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Virginia.

— 10  NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief. Controlled Flight into Terrain Beech King… 3-16-2006.

— 10  NTSB. Press Release. “NTSB Determines that Failure to Execute Published…” 2-7-2006.

— 10  Planecrashinfo.com. “2004. Accident Details. Hendrick Motorsports, Martinsville, Oct 24”

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB AAB: “On October 24, 2004, about 1235 eastern daylight time, a Beech King Air 200, N501RH, operated by Hendrick Motorsports, Inc., crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport (MTV), Martinsville, Virginia. The flight was transporting Hendrick Motorsports employees and others to an automobile race in Martinsville, Virginia. The two flight crewmembers and eight passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire.” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief. Controlled Flight into Terrain Beech King… 3-16-2006, p.. 1.)

 

NTSB Press Release: “The National Transportation Safety Board determined today that the probable cause of the crash of a Beech King Air operated by Hendrick Motorsports in Stuart, Virginia was the flight crew’s failure to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the crew’s failure to use all navigational aids to confirm and monitor the airplane’s position during the approach. On October 24, 2004, a Beech King Air aircraft transporting eight passengers, including Hendrick Motorsports employees, and two flight crewmembers collided with mountainous terrain during a missed approach to Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport, Martinsville, Virginia. All 10 persons aboard the airplane died and the aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

 

“The flight departed Concord Regional Airport, Concord, North Carolina, operating on instrument flight rules. Radar data shows that, after the plane was cleared for landing for a localizer runway 30 approach at Martinsville Airport, the plane did not descend at the proper point. About seven miles beyond the airport, the airplane initiated a straight- ahead climb. The airplane’s radar target was lost.

 

“The missed approach should have occurred over the Martinsville Airport by executing a climbing right turn. The airplane was not equipped with a ground proximity warning system. “The approach and missed approach procedures provide for safe operation in instrument weather conditions,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “It is imperative that pilots use all available navigational aids to ensure that the approach is properly flown.”” (NTSB. “NTSB Determines that Failure to Execute Published Instrument Approach Procedure Caused Hendrick Motorsport Plane Crash.” Washington, DC: NTSB Office of Public Affairs, 2-7-2006.)

 

Planecrashinfo.com: “The plane struck a steep incline in the Bull Mountain area seven miles from the Blue Ridge Regional Airport in heavy fog. Wreckage was confined to an area of approximately 200 ft. long. Killed in the crash were members of the Hendrick Motorsports racing team including the son, brother and two nieces of owner Rick Hendrick. Failure of the crew to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure. A contributing cause was the crew’s failure to use all navigational aids to confirm and monitor their position during the approach.” No survivors.  (Planecrashinfo.com.)

 

Sources

 

Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Virginia. Accessed 3/12/2009 at:  http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Virginie.htm

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Brief. Controlled Flight into Terrain Beech King Air 200, N501RH, Stuart, Virginia, October 24, 2005 (NTSB/AAB-06/01). Washington, DC: NTSB, 3-16-2006, 24 pages. Accessed 9-29-2015 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAB0601.pdf

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Press Release. “NTSB Determines that Failure to Execute Published Instrument Approach Procedure Caused Hendrick Motorsport Plane Crash.” Washington, DC: NTSB Office of Public Affairs, 2-7-2006. Accessed 9-29-2015 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NTSB_Determines_That_Failure_to_Execute_Published_Instrument_Approach_Procedure_Caused_Hendrick_Motorsport_Plane_Crash.aspx

 

Planecrashinfo.com. “2004. “Accident Details. Hendrick Motorsports, Martinsville, Oct 24, 2004.” Accessed at:  http://www.planecrashinfo.com/2004/2004-48.htm