Investigation Summary
The flight was transporting Hendrick Motorsports personnel to the NASCAR Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Due to low overcast and foggy conditions, the crew was required to perform a localizer approach to Runway 30 at Blue Ridge Airport. During the approach, the aircraft entered a holding pattern at the BALES initial approach fix at 4,000 feet. Upon being cleared for the approach, the pilots failed to begin their descent at the appropriate time, passing the fix at 4,000 feet and only beginning to descend two miles later. The aircraft overflew the airport at 2,600 feet, significantly higher than the intended profile, and reached the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) of 1,400 feet four miles past the airport. While attempting a late missed approach, the crew radioed their intentions but failed to execute the published procedure, which required an immediate right turn and climb to 2,600 feet. Instead, the aircraft continued straight and descended to 1,800 feet before impacting the side of Bull Mountain at approximately 2,400 feet. The investigation highlighted that the crew had missed several key waypoints and failed to recognize they were significantly off course and below the required safety altitudes for the terrain.
Final Conclusions
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the probable cause of the accident was the flight crew's failure to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure. Contributing factors included the crew's failure to use all available navigational aids to identify the aircraft's position and their failure to adhere to the missed approach instructions, which led to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) during inclement weather.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Richard Tracy (Airline Transport Pilot)
First Officer
Elizabeth Morrison (Commercial Pilot)
Systems & Failure Modes
Localizer 30 Approach
A non-precision instrument approach using a VHF radio transmitter to provide lateral guidance to the runway centerline.
Navigational Aids
The NTSB noted the crew failed to utilize all available equipment, such as the DME or GPS, to verify their distance from the airport and the BALES fix.
Interesting Facts
- 01The crash killed John Hendrick (President of Hendrick Motorsports), his twin daughters, and Ricky Hendrick (son of Rick Hendrick).
- 02The aircraft impacted Bull Mountain at an elevation of approximately 2,400 feet.
- 03Weather at the time of the accident was reported as foggy with a low-level overcast system.
- 04The aircraft reached the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) of 1,400 feet only after overflying the airport by four miles.
- 05NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson won the race at Martinsville that day; while he was not informed during the race, he and all Hendrick personnel were notified immediately afterward in the NASCAR mobile operations trailer.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Hendrick Motorsports Operational Changes
Following the accident, Hendrick Motorsports restructured its management, appointing Marshall Carlson as general manager in February 2005.