Accident report is out, and it's not very pleasent.
Some heads may roll, and I hope a Contractor loses their contract.
An Air Force-contracted DHC-8 Prospector aircraft crashed last October because the crew accidently drifted inland and impacted terrain during a counter narcotics mission off the Colombian coast, according to an April 23 Air Combat Command release. Four of the six crewmembers were killed and the two pilots were injured in the crash. The twin-engine surveillance aircraft, operated by Sierra Nevada Corp., was tracking a suspected drug trafficking boat from low-altitude on a US Southern Command mission from Panama when it crashed just over the border in Colombia, Oct. 4, 2013.
The board president found, by clear and convincing evidence, the cause of the mishap was the pilots' failure to ensure the aircraft remained over water, which resulted in unplanned night flight over land at low altitude, and subsequent controlled flight into the terrain. Additionally, the board president found four other factors that substantially contributed to the mishap: inappropriate delegation of terrain avoidance responsibility; ineffective communication among the aircrew; an inoperative Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System; and a lack of operational oversight.
