CESSNA 525, BRANSON, MO., DEC. 9, 1999–Two pilots and four passengers were killed in the crash of a CitationJet owned and operated by The College of the Ozarks. The NTSB found that the accident resulted when the pilot descended below the minimum altitude on a GPS approach. “Factors relating to the accident were low ceilings, rain and pilot fatigue,” investigators said. They also found the pilot was taking Doxepin to treat a gastrointestinal problem, a drug that can cause drowsiness.
On the day of the accident the pilot and copilot prepared for their flight from St. Louis with a call to flight service around 1339 CST. After receiving weather information, the pilot filed an IFR flight plan and called the operations manager at his home base, M. Graham Clark Airport (PLK) in Point Lookout, Mo. The operations manager said the weather was “pretty poor.” His observation showed 300 ft overcast, rain and mist, with three-quarter-mile visibility. The pilot asked the ops manager to monitor the Unicom so he could provide the pilots an updated observation before they started their approach.
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