Accidents
Final Report: Causes of loss-of-control accidents undetermined
CESSNA CARAVAN 208B, ROCKFORD, ILL., DEC.

CESSNA CARAVAN 208B, ROCKFORD, ILL., DEC. 17, 2002–Caravan N277PM crashed on a night ILS approach to Runway 7 at the Greater Rockford Airport (RFD) following a loss of control. The pilot was killed and the airplane was destroyed. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during the approach. Factors were the low ceilings, high winds, crosswind and wind-shear conditions.

The airplane hit trees and the ground approximately 2.1 miles from the approach end of the runway at 10:51 p.m. A witness said the airplane was at “mid-throttle” as it flew over and he then heard the power increase before the sounds of impact. He reported no precipitation but “severe winds, mostly from the south, shifting [and] volatile directly from the east,” and said visibility was “extremely poor.”