G is for Gulfstream

The Aspen accident seems to be a classic case of the get-theres. In this case the desire was that of the customer, but it nonetheless effected the pilots judgment. It was quite clear that the flight was headed down the wrong path from the beginning. The customers poor attitude set up a scenario where not reaching the destination became a failure of the flight. Were there a different attitude the flight would have most likely diverted to Rifle due to the weather. Despite the weather conditions and multiple reports of missed approached by similarly equipped aircraft, the crew initiated the VOR/DME-C which is a circling approach. This approach was notamed: circling NA at night, which due to the lack of a straight in made the whole approach invalid in the dark. Although it was not quite night yet, if the crew had not been under the pressure to arrive to the destination I feel that they may not have attempted it. Conditions continued to deteriorate after the approach was initiated, and the aircraft eventually wandered off of the approved approach procedure. In the dark they failed to find the runway, and impacted terrain short and to the right of centerline.

In my opinion there were several major factors in the crash.
1. The presure to complete the customers mission
2. The choice to fly an innapropriate approach for the conditions
3. The inclement weather conditions.
Despite the presence of multiple factors, this whole accident could have likely been prevent with a more safety conscious attitude from the beginning.