Pilot training appears to be a focus of the investigation into the August 13 crash of a Brazilian-registered Cessna Citation XLS (560XL). The accident, which occurred during an instrument approach to the Guaruja military air base near Santos, Brazil, claimed the life of Brazilian presidential contender Eduardo Campos and six others, including the two crewmembers.
On Friday, Brazilian accident investigation agency Cenipa published a preliminary recommendation that would require both cockpit crewmembers to receive the same aircraft training. The captain of the accident airplane received a 560XL type rating, but the first officer was trained “by an Air Force officer who serves as examiner for [Brazilian civil aviation agency] ANAC on May 25, 2014, during a flight between Varginha and the Pampulha Airport in a Cessna 560, and not a Cessna 560XL.”
Operation of a Citation 560 is covered under the Cessna C500 type rating and requires only differences training. However, the Citation 560XL requires a different type rating. Notably, 560XL training emphasizes a warning in the pilot operation manual limitations section that does not appear in that for the C560: “Do not retract flaps above 200 kias. Associated stabilizer movement can cause a significant nose-down pitch upset.”
Although the Cenipa report does not specify which pilot was at the controls of the Citation, press coverage at the time of the accident said the crew was attempting a go-around. Cenipa offered the training recommendation without further explanation.
An FAA flight standardization report for the 560XL contains this passage: “The XL has a two-position tail that repositions after the flaps are up. This results in significant pitch control forces different from [those of] the Ultra. After the flaps are up, and as the tail repositions, this changes to the need for a significant amount of nose-down trim.”