Accidents
Fatigue a factor in Wellstone crash?
The NTSB is eyeing fatigue as a contributing factor in the October 25 accident that killed Sen.

The NTSB is eyeing fatigue as a contributing factor in the October 25 accident that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), members of his family and staff and both pilots. The King Air A100 crashed two miles from the airport during an approach to the Eveleth-Virginia (Minn.) Airport (EVM). Wellstone had chartered the aircraft from St. Paul-based Aviation Charter.

The flight had been vectored by air traffic controllers to intercept the extended centerline of Runway 27 for a VOR approach. Inexplicably, ATC radar showed it on a southwesterly course at a speed of 85 kt before it disappeared from radar. Both the engines and propellers appear to have been operating at the time of the crash. Weather was reported as three miles visibility with 700-ft overcast. The pilot received two FSS weather briefings before the flight.

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