There were slightly more fatalities from U.S. turbine business airplane accidents in the first half of this year than in the same period last year. According to preliminary figures compiled by AIN, in the first six months of this year 15 people died in eight turboprop and jet crashes compared to 13 deaths in four accidents in the same timeframe last year. Nonfatal U.S. business jets accidents were unchanged, with three in each six-month period.
Business jets were involved in two fatal accidents in the first half of this year. Both are still being investigated by the NTSB. On March 24 a Citation 500 being flown IFR under Part 91 by a private pilot, the sole person on board, crashed while being radar vectored for an approach to an airport that was not the flight-planned destination. The pilot requested vectoring because his autopilot was not working and he was having "steering problems." Controllers lost radar and radio contact when the airplane was 15 miles from the airport.
On May 15 a Learjet 35 crashed during the turn for a circling approach. The two pilots were killed on the Part 91 positioning flight from Philadelphia to Teterboro. The aircraft was “less than a mile” from Runway 6 on the ILS approach when it crashed during the right turn for the circling approach to land on Runway 1. A controller reported that he saw the airplane bank hard to the right, and he could see its belly with the wings almost perpendicular to the ground. The airplane then appeared to level out for just a second before the left wing dropped, and the airplane descended to the ground.
In the six-month period last year, two people perished in one fatal crash of a business jet. On Jan. 18, 2016, a Cessna 525 on a Part 91 IFR flight broke up in flight while maneuvering at altitude, killing the ATP-rated pilot and his passenger. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported that his FMS had failed, and that he needed to fly straight while he tried to program the backup FMS. Moments later the pilot declared Mayday, stating that he was having difficulty with the backup FMS and that he was hand-flying. Controllers issued a no-gyro turn to avoid precip, after which the airplane’s airspeed fluctuated significantly. The airplane was then seen turning to the right before the radar target was lost. This accident is still under investigation.
There were no fatal accidents involving non-N-numbered business jets in the first half of last year compared with one accident and two fatalities during the current first half. On May 17, 2017, a Mexican-registered, privately operated Learjet 25 crashed seconds after takeoff, killing the two pilots. This accident is still under investigation. Nonfatal mishaps involving non-U.S.-registered jets jumped from one in last year’s first half to four in this year’s first half.
Uptick for U.S. Turboprop Fatalities
In the first half of this year, N-numbered business turboprops suffered five crashes that killed 12 people, compared with three crashes and 11 fatalities last year. Three of the fatal accidents in this year’s first half occurred under Part 91 and two under Part 135. Nonfatal mishaps climbed to 13 from 12 in the corresponding timeframes.
The NTSB concluded its investigation into the April 19, 2016 fatal crash of a public-use King Air A90 that claimed two lives. The NTSB determined the probable cause to be an unstable night visual approach in black-hole conditions “resulting in the airplane overshooting the runway extended centerline while on base leg and descending well below a safe glidepath for the runway.” Contributing to the accident was the lack of monitoring by the copilot. “The pilot had conducted operations at the airport for 14 years and the copilot for 31 years, which might have led to crew complacency,” the Safety Board added.
Fatal accidents befalling non-U.S.-registered turboprops declined in the first six months of this year, with the number of fatalities falling to 20 from 27 last year. Of the 14 people killed in charter accidents in the first half of last year, a dozen died in a single event. On April 13, the 12 people perished in the crash of a twin-turbine Britten-Norman Islander charter flight in Papua New Guinea. Witnesses reported that during its final approach, the aircraft suddenly pitched up almost to the vertical, the right wing dropped, and the aircraft rolled inverted and rapidly fell to the ground.
The investigation determined that the right engine had failed, but sufficiently before the aircraft pitched nose up for the pilot to have had time to wind in full nose-left rudder trim. However, the investigation also revealed that the aircraft’s load distribution resulted in a “significantly aft center of gravity for takeoff and landing.”
The investigation concluded recently into another fatal non-U.S.-registered charter turboprop accident in the first six months of last year. On April 1, 2016, a Cessna 208B was destroyed in a forced landing in a rocky river bed in Mexico. Three passengers were killed. On the climb-out the engine quit and during the forced landing the left wing hit a tree, then the aircraft struck large stones in the bed of the river, splitting the airframe in two. According to the final report, unauthorized maintenance on an engine part likely caused the powerplant failure.
There were slightly more fatalities from U.S. turbine business airplane accidents in the first half of this year than in the same period last year. According to preliminary figures compiled by AIN, in the first six months of this year 15 people died in eight turboprop and jet crashes compared to 13 deaths in four accidents in the same timeframe last year. Nonfatal U.S. business jets accidents were unchanged, with three in each six-month period.
Business jets were involved in two fatal accidents in the first half of this year. Both are still being investigated by the NTSB. On March 24 a Citation 500 being flown IFR under Part 91 by a private pilot, the sole person on board, crashed while being radar vectored for an approach to an airport that was not the flight-planned destination. The pilot requested vectoring because his autopilot was not working and he was having "steering problems." Controllers lost radar and radio contact when the airplane was 15 miles from the airport.
On May 15 a Learjet 35 crashed during the turn for a circling approach. The two pilots were killed on the Part 91 positioning flight from Philadelphia to Teterboro. The aircraft was “less than a mile” from Runway 6 on the ILS approach when it crashed during the right turn for the circling approach to land on Runway 1. A controller reported that he saw the airplane bank hard to the right, and he could see its belly with the wings almost perpendicular to the ground. The airplane then appeared to level out for just a second before the left wing dropped, and the airplane descended to the ground.
In the six-month period last year, two people perished in one fatal crash of a business jet. On Jan. 18, 2016, a Cessna 525 on a Part 91 IFR flight broke up in flight while maneuvering at altitude, killing the ATP-rated pilot and his passenger. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported that his FMS had failed, and that he needed to fly straight while he tried to program the backup FMS. Moments later the pilot declared Mayday, stating that he was having difficulty with the backup FMS and that he was hand-flying. Controllers issued a no-gyro turn to avoid precip, after which the airplane’s airspeed fluctuated significantly. The airplane was then seen turning to the right before the radar target was lost. This accident is still under investigation.
There were no fatal accidents involving non-N-numbered business jets in the first half of last year compared with one accident and two fatalities during the current first half. On May 17, 2017, a Mexican-registered, privately operated Learjet 25 crashed seconds after takeoff, killing the two pilots. This accident is still under investigation. Nonfatal mishaps involving non-U.S.-registered jets jumped from one in last year’s first half to four in this year’s first half.
Uptick for U.S. Turboprop Fatalities
In the first half of this year, N-numbered business turboprops suffered five crashes that killed 12 people, compared with three crashes and 11 fatalities last year. Three of the fatal accidents in this year’s first half occurred under Part 91 and two under Part 135. Nonfatal mishaps climbed to 13 from 12 in the corresponding timeframes.
The NTSB concluded its investigation into the April 19, 2016 fatal crash of a public-use King Air A90 that claimed two lives. The NTSB determined the probable cause to be an unstable night visual approach in black-hole conditions “resulting in the airplane overshooting the runway extended centerline while on base leg and descending well below a safe glidepath for the runway.” Contributing to the accident was the lack of monitoring by the copilot. “The pilot had conducted operations at the airport for 14 years and the copilot for 31 years, which might have led to crew complacency,” the Safety Board added.
Fatal accidents befalling non-U.S.-registered turboprops declined in the first six months of this year, with the number of fatalities falling to 20 from 27 last year. Of the 14 people killed in charter accidents in the first half of last year, a dozen died in a single event. On April 13, the 12 people perished in the crash of a twin-turbine Britten-Norman Islander charter flight in Papua New Guinea. Witnesses reported that during its final approach, the aircraft suddenly pitched up almost to the vertical, the right wing dropped, and the aircraft rolled inverted and rapidly fell to the ground.
The investigation determined that the right engine had failed, but sufficiently before the aircraft pitched nose up for the pilot to have had time to wind in full nose-left rudder trim. However, the investigation also revealed that the aircraft’s load distribution resulted in a “significantly aft center of gravity for takeoff and landing.”
The investigation concluded recently into another fatal non-U.S.-registered charter turboprop accident in the first six months of last year. On April 1, 2016, a Cessna 208B was destroyed in a forced landing in a rocky river bed in Mexico. Three passengers were killed. On the climb-out the engine quit and during the forced landing the left wing hit a tree, then the aircraft struck large stones in the bed of the river, splitting the airframe in two. According to the final report, unauthorized maintenance on an engine part likely caused the powerplant failure.