NTSB CAROL · Event
Event BFO90FA076
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER IFR PROCEDURE BY NOT MAINTAINING SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE, WHILE CIRCLING TO LAND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE LOW CEILING AND VISIBILITY CONDITIONS IN FOG.
Factual narrative
THE PILOT WAS CLEARED FOR AN APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT. HE RECEIVED AIRPORT ADVISORIES FROM THE AIRPORT UNICOM OPERATOR & ASKED THAT THE RUNWAY LIGHTS BE TURNED UP. SOON AFTERWARDS, THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN APPROACHING RUNWAY 23, WHICH WAS SERVED BY A LOCALIZER APPROACH. A WITNESS AT THE AIRPORT SAID HE SAW THE PLANE FLYING IN & OUT OF LOW HANGING CLOUDS. HE SAID THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO BE AT LEVEL FLIGHT, ABOUT 400 TO 500 FEET AGL, THEN IT PASSED OVER THE AIRPORT & WENT IN A STEEP LEFT TURN. AFTER ABOUT 90 DEGREES OF TURN, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN A SHALLOW DESCENT. IT ROLLED OUT OF THE TURN BEFORE IT DESCENDED INTO THE GROUND ABOUT 1/4 MILE FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 28. THE WITNESS SAID HE HEARD ENGINE SOUNDS THROUGHOUT THE DESCENT. AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE DID NOT DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. A POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION DID NOT REVEAL EVIDENCE OF IMPAIRMENT OR INCAPACITATION OF THE PILOT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_BFO90FA076.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
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