Wake Vortices Might Have Caused Mishap

The pilot of a Bombardier Challenger 600 that was substantially damaged during a hard landing on Runway 15 at Aspen, Colo., on February 9, told the NTSB that the airplane encountered wake vortices from a BAe 146 that had just taken off from Runway 33. According to the pilot, at 50 feet agl the airplane rolled hard to the left. He added power and the twinjet rolled hard to the right. The pilot stopped the roll, but the nose dropped and the right main landing gear hit the runway, pushing the strut into the wing and causing additional damage.