Two fatal accidents

Two fatal bizjet accidents in the first two weeks of this year, already half the total for all of 2006, have claimed the lives of four pilots. A cargo-carrying Learjet 24, operated by Dallas-based Ameristar Jet Charter, crashed while on approach to Miguel Hidalgo Airport in Guadalajara, Mexico, on January 9, and a Cessna CitationJet, operated by Van Nuys, Calif.-based Sun Quest Executive Air Charter, crashed shortly after takeoff from Van Nuys Airport on January 12. The NTSB told AIN a nose baggage door on the CitationJet was open during takeoff. No immediate cause was identified in the Ameristar crash, the company’s third fatal in six years.