Weather is one of the “key areas” of focus as the NTSB begins its investigation of the November 10 crash of a Hawker 700 while on approach to Akron Fulton International Airport (KAKR), killing all nine aboard. The Safety Board is beginning its first full day of investigation today after arriving on the scene yesterday. In a briefing with reporters yesterday, NTSB vice chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr said the Safety Board recovered the cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft, N237WR, and has obtained security camera footage of the accident. The NTSB plans to begin recovering the wreckage today.
The Hawker, operated by Execuflight, was on a charter mission that began on Monday from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and involved stops in Minneapolis, Moline, Ill., St. Louis and Cincinnati that day. The crew and passengers overnighted in Cincinnati, leaving Tuesday at 10 a.m. for Dayton before heading to Akron in the afternoon. The aircraft crashed about a mile short of Runway 25 while on a localizer approach to Akron Fulton. It was seen flying at a low altitude and banking to the left before the crash, Dinh-Zarr said. The left wing first hit the ground, leaving a “witness mark,” before the aircraft continued into a four-unit apartment building and then up an embankment.
NTSB investigators interviewed a pilot who landed just before N237WR was set to land and was on the same Unicom frequency. The pilot indicated there were no signs of distress from the Hawker crew, Dinh-Zarr confirmed. The fact that the pilot ahead landed at the time confirmed that the airport was accessible given the weather conditions, she said, but did note that the NTSB will be focusing on weather.
A Metar issued less than five minutes after the accident reported wind 240 at 7 knots, visibility one-and-a-half miles, mist, ceiling 400 feet broken and 900 feet overcast. The Metar one hour earlier indicated visibility as two-and-a-half miles, mist and ceiling 800 feet overcast.
Dinh-Zarr said the NTSB believes the Hawker was on its first approach into the airport at the time of the accident, but added that the Board is still reviewing the flight path.
Boca Raton, Fla.-based real estate developer Pebb Enterprises confirmed that seven of its people were on board—two principals and five employees. The two pilots were among the fatalities. The NTSB is checking pilot and maintenance records. Execuflight CEO Danny Lewkowicz told news reporters yesterday that the pilots were “seasoned.”