ATL83FA145

Factual narrative

THE ACFT WAS ON A X-COUNTRY FROM BUFFALO, NY TO NEW PORT RICHEY, FL. THE PLT MADE AN EN ROUTE STOP AT PAINSVILLE, OH, THEN PROCEEDED TOWARD GREENSBORO, NC. WHILE EN ROUTE, HE ELECTED TO LAND AT ROANOKE, VA BECAUSE HIS FUEL WOULD BE LOW IF HE CONTINUED TO GREENSBORO. AT ROANOKE, THE PLT BEGAN THE LDA APPROACH TO RWY 05. THE WEATHER WAS REPORTED, IN PART, AS: 200 FT BROKEN, 400 FT OVERCAST, VISIBILITY 2 MI WITH LIGHT RAIN & FOG. THE MINIMUMS FOR THE PRECISION APPROACH WAS 400 FT CEILING & 1 MI VISIBILITY. AT 1152:37, THE PLT HAD BEGUN A MISSED APPROACH. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, HE WAS ADVISED HE WAS FLYING TOWARD HIGH TERRAIN & WAS PROVIDED VECTORS. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE RADAR CONTROLLER NOTED THAT THE ACFT DESCENDED FROM 2800 TO 1800 FT, THEN RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. A WITNESS SAW THE ACFT MANEUVERING AT 75 TO 100 FT AGL, JUST BEFORE IT IMPACTED A TREE & A TV TRANSMISSION LINE. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE. AN ESTIMATION OF FUEL COMPUTATION INDICATED ONLY ABOUT 23 GAL WOULD BE REMAINING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12