There were many factors that lead to this accident in aspen Colorado. The main contributing factor was the pressure that was put on the flight crew to get the flight in and not have to go to their alternate airport. It was made very clear by "the boss" that they needed to get the plane on the ground. Even though they were running late and it was going to be very close to not making it before the night, they still chose to go anyways.
As they got closer into the airport there was a error chain. They let the passenger into cockpit and then proceed to make a chain of errors as they made there way into the airport. Many of these errors should have been avoided and they should have just gone around. Especially after multiple planes went missed on the approach before them.
They should have not let themselves be pressured into trying that landing. They should have not even attempted the approach or at least went missed. They should have not let the passenger in the cockpit. That just added to thing and made the pressure worse.
Even if my job was on the line I would do what is safe. It is not worth risking my life to keep a job.....
I forgot about the passenger being let into the cabin. that was a pretty big mistake and probably a big distraction. i think the biggest mistake though was trying the instrument approach in the first place because it was not meant for night opperations. i also do not think their job would really have been at risk. no company would fire a pilot for making a safe decision especially when three airplanes had just gone missed grom the same approach.
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