A Beechcraft King Air B300 crashed while on approach to Chinle Municipal Airport (E91) in Arizona yesterday, killing all four crewmembers onboard. The 1988-built turboprop twin, registered N534AW, had departed from its home base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to pick up a critical-care patient at E91 and return home with the patient. Weather reports from the closest facility to E91, some 37 nm away, indicated VMC with gusty winds.
ADS-B coverage stopped at about 12:40 p.m. local time as the King Air was maneuvering for the approach. The accident site is located on an access road that runs parallel to and is 950 feet away from the runway. Owned by the Navajo Nation, the non-towered public-use airport has an elevation of 5,550 feet and one asphalt landing strip—the 6,902-foot-long Runway 18/36.
Nearest weather reporting from Arizona’s Window Rock Airport (KRQE) at 11:53 a.m. and 12:53 p.m. included winds from 270/280 at 14 to 17 knots, gusting to 28 knots; visibility 10 miles, with no clouds under 12,000 feet; temperature 31/32 degrees C; dewpoint -1 degrees C; and an altimeter setting of 30.39 and 30.38, respectively.
The Part 135 air ambulance flight was being conducted by CSI Aviation, a long-time air charter company based in Albuquerque. According to NTSB records, CSI has not had a reportable incident or accident in its 46-year history.