Bombardier Learjet 55, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 19, 2004–Hop-A-Jet Learjet N55LF overran Runway 31 during the landing roll at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) in VMC. The ATP captain and the commercial first officer were not injured, but the airplane was destroyed.
On a positioning flight from Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood International Airport, the pilots were watching weather building to the west, and just as, or possibly seconds before, they arrived at FXE, the weather–a fast-moving thunderstorm– “impacted the active runway.” The pilot applied brakes and thrust reverser upon touchdown, but the brakes were not effective in the heavy rainfall. The crew decided to attempt a go-around but was unable to attain liftoff speed. The Learjet slid 1,000 feet past the departure end of the runway.
The controller had warned of standing water on runways and low-level wind shear advisories. Two airport firemen reported heavy rain, gusty wind and lightning. The NWS Radar Summary Chart depicted a large area of echoes associated with thunderstorms extending over Florida.