Investigation Summary
The flight originated in Cayenne, French Guiana, with a stopover in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, before proceeding toward its final destination in Haiti. The mission was a government-chartered repatriation flight. Investigators found that the crew failed to maintain the assigned flight path, resulting in a significant lateral deviation of 10 nautical miles. While the aircraft was descending toward Port-au-Prince under air traffic control guidance, it was cleared to an altitude that was lower than the surrounding terrain in the area where it had drifted. The Beechcraft 1900D impacted Mt. La Selle at the 5,030-foot level, well above the 4,000-foot altitude the crew was attempting to reach. The accident is classified as Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), as the aircraft was under the control of the pilots and functioning normally at the time of the collision.
Final Conclusions
The investigation concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the aircraft drifting ten nautical miles off course during its approach to Port-au-Prince. This navigational error led the aircraft into mountainous terrain while following a descent clearance to 4,000 feet, which was insufficient for the actual terrain height at the aircraft's off-course position.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Navigation Systems
The aircraft drifted 10 nautical miles off course, indicating a failure in navigational precision or monitoring by the crew.
Air Traffic Control (ATC)
ATC cleared the aircraft to descend to 4,000 feet, an altitude that did not provide terrain clearance for the aircraft's actual (off-course) position.
Interesting Facts
- 01The flight was chartered by the Government of France to return illegal immigrants to Haiti.
- 02The aircraft was a twin-turboprop Beechcraft 1900D registered in France as F-OHRK.
- 03All 20 occupants, including 18 passengers and 2 crew members, were killed in the impact.
- 04The crash site was located near Belle-Anse, approximately 10 nautical miles off the intended course.
- 05The impact occurred at an altitude of 5,030 feet while the aircraft was cleared to 4,000 feet.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS)
Following this and other CFIT accidents in the 1990s, international aviation authorities accelerated the mandate for Ground Proximity Warning Systems (GPWS) and later Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS) on smaller commuter and charter aircraft like the Beechcraft 1900.
ATC Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW)
The accident highlighted the need for Air Traffic Control to verify aircraft position relative to terrain before issuing descent clearances, leading to improved training for controllers in mountainous regions regarding Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW) protocols.