Blown Tire Eyed in Learjet 60 Crash

At press time, the NTSB was finishing its on-scene investigation of a Learjet 60SE (N999LJ) fatal accident at Columbia (S.C.) Metropolitan Airport. The Learjet– owned by Inter Travel and Services and operated by Global Exec Aviation of Long Beach, Calif.– crashed just before midnight on September 19 after the twinjet overran Runway 11 while on takeoff for a flight to Van Nuys (Calif.) Airport. It came to rest on an upslope about 1,200 feet from the end of the runway after going through the 1,000-foot safety overrun and a perimeter fence, down a hill and across a road. Two crewmembers and two passengers were killed in the accident. Two remaining passengers survived but suffered severe burns in the post-crash fire. An NTSB spokesman told AIN that “evidence points to a tire blowout” at around the time the Learjet copilot made a callout at 80 knots. Tire debris was also found at approximately 2,800 feet down the 8,602-foot runway.