Hawker Post-mx Test Flight Crash Latest in Troubling Trend

A Raytheon Hawker 800XP that crashed on October 16 is at least the fourth reported accident or incident in the U.S. involving required post-maintenance stall testing in a Hawker business jet, according to the NTSB preliminary report. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots and the passenger were killed in the accident.

Accident investigators found that the crew had opted to perform the stall tests without using a test pilot after the twinjet had undergone months of routine maintenance at Duncan Aviation’s Battle Creek, Michigan facility. The Mexican-registered aircraft, XA-JMR, operated by Aerolíneas del Centro, departed Battle Creek Executive Airport (KBTL) at 17:08 local time for a local flight required by maintenance updates. 

The agency also noted that it has investigated at least three other accidents/incidents involving the performance of required stall tests after maintenance in business jets. The most recent of these was a fatal accident in which a Hawker 900XP crashed in Utah in February 2024. This jet was operated by Clay Lacy Aviation and had been at West Star Aviation's facility in Grand Junction, Colorado, for around six weeks of scheduled maintenance.

According to Duncan Aviation personnel interviewed by investigators, the maintenance process included removal of the wing leading edges and TKS anti-ice panels to inspect for cracks or corrosion. After such work, the manufacturer requires a dedicated stall-test validation flight before the aircraft can be released to service.

Test Pilot Offer Rejected

Duncan personnel told the NTSB that they had provided the captain “with a list of experienced test pilots, for hire, to perform the post-maintenance stall test flight.” However, because the Aerolíneas del Centro crew could not coordinate schedules with a qualified test pilot, they “elected to perform the post-maintenance stall test themselves.”

ADS-B data showed the airplane climbing northeast of the field and leveling at FL150 after requesting a block altitude request of FL140 to FL160. At 17:27, the aircraft began what the NTSB described as “a rapid descent from FL140,” accompanied by an initial “indiscernible transmission” from the crew. ATC responded, “XA-JMR Cleveland.” Moments later the crew replied, “we are in a…” followed by a Spanish transmission translated by investigators as “in a stall, recovering, sorry.” There were no further communications.

The airplane impacted a wooded area about nine miles northeast of Battle Creek in a relatively flat attitude, on a magnetic heading of 150 degrees. A post-impact fire consumed much of the wreckage, with portions of the right wing, both winglets, and the empennage section remaining. Investigators documented that “all major structures were accounted for at the accident site.”

The crew, who Duncan personnel said typically flew the aircraft about 150 hours per year, had completed recurrent simulator training five months earlier. According to their logbooks, both pilots “exclusively flew the accident airplane.”

The Hawker 800XP’s pilot’s operating manual contains detailed procedures and cautions for conducting the stall-test flight. The required conditions include day VMC, a clear visual horizon, altitude above 10,000 feet agl and below 18,000 feet msl, the autopilot disengaged, operative stall-warning systems, no ice contamination, an empty ventral tank, and the weather radar in standby mode. The manual also notes that the type provides “no natural stall warning or aerodynamic buffet prior to the stall.” 

Stall Roll Warning

A strong caution in the pilot operator’s manual warns that a “tendency to roll the stall” is a frequent source of unacceptable stall behavior, and that aileron snatch “may be strong enough to affect recovery using aileron input.” In such an event, the manual states, “the elevator control must be moved forward to decrease the angle of attack and allow the return of normal aileron control,” adding that pilots must be “prepared to recover from an unusual attitude.” It further states that pilots conducting the test “should have prior experience in performing stalls in the Hawker.”

An NTSB investigator-in-charge, an aerospace engineer, and a maintenance/airworthiness investigator examined the wreckage October 18 to 22 with representatives from the airplane and engine manufacturers, the FAA, and the Mexican DAAIA. Components were retained for further testing, and results are pending. The cockpit voice recorder has been transported to the NTSB’s vehicle recorder laboratory in Washington.

Meteorological conditions near the accident site were VMC with 10 miles visibility, clear skies, and an altimeter setting of 30.13 inches Hg. The NTSB is still investigating the accident.