Preliminary Report: Learjet hits fence on final

Gates Learjet 35A, New Castle, St. Kitts and Nevis, July 13, 2004–Learjet N829CA, en route VFR from St. Maarten, hit the perimeter fence on approach to Runway 10 at Vance W. Amory Airport, New Castle, St. Kitts and Nevis, sustaining substantial damage. Both wings were damaged, and the left engine partly dislodged from the fuselage and the left fuel tank ruptured. Weather was unknown and there were no injuries. The aircraft was registered to Antilles Aircraft Leasing and operated by Aviation Jet Charters, as a Part 135 air ambulance.

The approach was normal until a downdraft on short final was experienced. The airplane sank and despite the pilot’s advancing engine power immediately, the airplane continued to sink. The main landing gear hit the top of the barbed-wire fencing at the approach end of the runway. The airplane landed hard short of the threshold, then rolled onto the runway, and the pilot was able to stop and taxi to the ramp.
The director of Civil Aviation for the Eastern Caribbean States delegated the investigation to the NTSB.