The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the February 7 fatal accident involving a Beechcraft Hawker 900XP contains details of the final flight. However, it sheds little light on what might have caused the twin-jet to descend seemingly out of control and crash near Westwater, Utah. The two pilots were killed in the planned Part 91 IFR positioning flight from Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT), Colorado, to Gig Harbor, Washington.
The airplane, operated by Vici Aviation and managed by Clay Lacy Aviation, arrived at West Star Aviation’s facility at GJT on Dec. 20, 2023, for routine maintenance. According to West Star, multiple routine inspections had been completed on the airplane, including a requirement to remove the wing leading edges and TKS panels to inspect for cracks and signs of corrosion. After the inspections were completed, the airplane was returned to service on February 6.
During the positioning flight, the pilots planned to perform a stall warning and systems check per the airframe manufacturer’s requirements. These requirements, listed in the pilot’s operating manual, included an altitude above 10,000 feet agl, 10,000 feet above clouds, and below 18,000 feet msl. In addition, this check could be conducted only during day VMC with a good visual horizon, the autopilot disengaged, an operative stall warning system, the external surfaces free of ice, the ventral fuel tank empty, and weather radar on standby.
After the airplane departed GJT at 10:37 a.m. and entered a climb on a southeast heading, ATC approved the pilots' request for a block of altitude from FL180 to FL200. At about 10:44 a.m., the aircraft leveled off at FL200. Three minutes later, ADS-B flight track data showed the airplane in a rapid descent in a circular pattern that resembled the shape of a corkscrew.
The airplane made multiple rotations before crashing into open terrain. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered and the wreckage has also been retained for further examination. The accident site was IMC at the time of the accident.