PRIVATE PLANE-CIRCUIT CITY

NTSB Identification: DCA05MA037
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, February 16, 2005 in Pueblo, CO
Aircraft: Cessna 560, registration: N500AT
Injuries: 8 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On February 16, 2005, at approximately 0913 mountain standard time (MST), a Cessna Citation 560, registration N500AT, crashed while on an ILS approach to runway 26R at Pueblo Memorial Airport, Pueblo, Colorado (PUB). The two flight crewmembers and six passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed by impact and a post-crash fire. The accident site was located in an open field approximately 4 miles east of the runway. The airplane was owned and operated by Circuit City Stores, Inc. of Richmond, VA, utilizing the aircraft management services of Martinair. The flight was being conducted in accordance with 14 CFR Part 91, and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed on the approach.

Elevation of the accident site was about 4600 feet. The wreckage debris field was approximately 550 feet long and oriented on a magnetic heading of 230 degrees. Impact marks and debris were consistent with first ground impact by the left wing.

The accident airplane and another Circuit City Citation about 20 miles in trail (the "sister ship") were destined for Santa Ana, CA. The flights originated at Richmond International Airport, VA, (RIC). Because of forecast and encountered headwinds, the first fuel stop was in Columbia, Missouri, and the second fuel stop was to be in Pueblo. The pilots of the sister ship stated that they and the accident pilots met at RIC around 0500 and departed soon after 0600 that morning. The stop in Columbia was uneventful.

The captain of the sister ship stated that his flight was in and out of the clouds on their descent from 10,000 feet into PUB. He indicated that they were picking up some rime ice, but that operation of the deicing boots was effectively shedding the ice. The captain of the sister ship stated that after communication with the accident airplane had been lost, they were vectored around to land on runway 8L.

The closest automated surface observing system (ASOS) to the accident site was the PUB ASOS, which was located about 4 miles west of the site. The most recent weather observation occurred at 1553 UTC (universal time coordinates, or 0853 MST) and included the following:

winds from 060 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 8 miles; skies broken at 900 feet and overcast at 1,400 feet; temperature -3 degrees C, dew point -5 degrees C, altimeter 30.16 in. Hg; remarks: ceiling varying between 700 and 1,100 feet.

An AIRMET for icing conditions had been issued by the National Weather Service on the day of the accident and was valid at the time of the accident and included the accident location. It was issued at 1445 UTC and valid until 2100 UTC. In part, it forecasted occasional moderate rime and/or mixed icing in clouds and precipitation between the freezing level (i.e., the ground) and 22,000 feet.

The air traffic controller at Pueblo handling N500AT indicated that another airplane was in a holding pattern near PUB in order to burn fuel and return to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Because this airplane and the accident airplane could not visually acquire each other, and because of the potential for reduced separation, the controller vectored N500AT to the south briefly and then back to the north to provide adequate spacing between the two airplanes.

The captain of the holding airplane, a Bombardier CRJ-200, stated that he had requested a holding altitude of 8,000 feet over PUB. Air traffic control (ATC) informed him of icing conditions at 8,000 feet but he stated that he would try it. He stated that as the flight descended to 8,000 feet and into instrument meteorological conditions, the icing light in his airplane illuminated. He immediately requested and received 9,000 feet to exit the icing conditions. He said he was above the cloud layer and mostly in the clear at 9,000 feet. He characterized the icing as rime icing but couldn't state the accumulation rate or its severity.

Radar data show that N500AT was vectored to the south when it was about 15 miles out from PUB and rejoined the localizer about 10 miles out. The radar track shows the accident airplane on a heading consistent with the inbound localizer heading of 257 degrees after rejoining the localizer.
The following are from the ATC transcript of some of the communications between the local controller (LC) and the accident flight (reported times are approximate and in UTC as "hours:minutes:seconds").

16:06:11, LC citation zero alpha tango affirmative runway two six right for the ils traffic holding over the airport is a regional jet at niner thousand report if you get him in sight
16:06:20, N500AT ok i'll be looking and uh looking for the ils two six right
16:08:06, LC citation zero alpha tango roger that traffic is eleven moving twelve o'clock and niner miles turning northbound at niner thousand
16:08:14, N500AT ok we're out of ten now hurrying on down to seven and he must be imc
16:08:18, LC uh negative he's just on top
16:08:24, N500AT ok but we're imc now at ninety four hundred alpha tango
16:08:28, LC citation zero alpha tango turn left heading of one seven zero
16:08:55, LC citation zero alpha tango turn right heading two niner zero intercept the localizer inbound traffic is five miles west of your position level at niner thousand maintain seven thousand until established cleared approach
16:11:09, LC citation zero foxtrot uh or correction uh cita or correction citation zero alpha tango you're cleared approach just remain with me runway two six right cleared to land
16:11:19, N500AT ok five alpha tango cleared to land with you at seven thousand intercepting the glide slope

The following are the approximate times and altitudes associated with the last seven ATC radar hits of N500AT (time is in UTC and altitude is above mean sea level):

16:12:16 6200 feet
16:12:20 6200 feet
16:12:25 6100 feet
16:12:30 6100 feet
16:12:34 6000 feet
16:12:39 5600 feet
16:12:44 4900 feet

The sister-ship captain stated that he had flown N500AT the day before the accident and had observed no maintenance problems. The sister-ship first officer stated that he had flown N500AT two days before the accident and that the airplane "worked fine."
 

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