In its final report on the probable cause of a single-engine cargo aircraft's crash while approaching Friedman Memorial Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded it was "the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while on approach for landing in icing conditions" and "inadequate airspeed."
The Cessna 208B, owned by Salmon Air and under contract to United Parcel Service, crashed seven miles south of Bellevue on Dec. 6, 2004, about 10:20 a.m. while making a GPS instrument approach in icy, overcast weather.
Pilot Fred Villaneuva, 60,of Farmington, Utah, and a passenger-pilot also employed by Salmon Air, Raymond Ingram, 32, of Salmon, were killed. Villaneuva was a highly experienced Air Transport-rated pilot with 9,757 hours of flight time. He had logged 202 hours in the Cessna 208.
The pilot's last radio communication with the Friedman control tower reported he was still on instruments in clouds and did not have the Hailey field in sight.
NTSB investigators found the airport's navigation systems were functioning properly, the Cessna aircraft was mechanically sound and the pilot showed no signs of disability.
Investigators noted in their full report that the Cessna 208 must not be flown less than 105 knots indicated air speed (about 120 miles per hour) in icing conditions with landing flaps retracted.
The fire-gutted wreckage was confined to a small area. The engine was driven into the ground at a 75-degree angle, indicating an almost vertical dive in the aircraft's final seconds of flight.
Wing ice and inadequate speed can lead to a stall and loss of control.
