Judge: Wake Turbulence Did Not Fell Sport-Jet

A U.S. district court judge rejected the claim by plaintiff Excel-Jet that the June 22, 2006, takeoff crash of the experimental single-engine Sport-Jet was caused by wake turbulence. Excel-Jet claimed that an air traffic controller at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport failed to ensure adequate separation between the takeoff of a Dash 8-200 and the Sport-Jet, which, at about 15 feet above the runway, “rolled hard to the left and began to ‘cartwheel’ down the runway,” according to witnesses. An expert witness for the government testified that the Sport-Jet lost lift when it tried to climb above ground effect, resulting in the aircraft stalling.