Seven Urgent NTSB Actions Target Hawker Stall Tests

The National Transportation Safety Board issued seven urgent safety recommendations voicing concern that pilots conducting manufacturer-required post-maintenance stall test flights in certain Hawker business jets may be inadequately trained and unprepared to safely respond to unacceptable stall behavior. Directed to the FAA, Textron Aviation, and the National Business Aviation Association, the recommendations follow recent accidents involving post-maintenance stall testing in Hawker aircraft.

These current recommendations are based on a series of Hawker accidents investigated by the NTSB. In one case, a Hawker 800XP crashed in October 2025 during a required post-maintenance stall test flight following extensive maintenance. The accident destroyed the airplane and killed both pilots and a passenger. Investigators found that the crew elected to perform the stall test without a qualified test pilot, despite being offered access to experienced stall test pilots, and the airplane entered a rapid descent after the crew reported a stall.

In February 2024, a Hawker 900XP crashed in Utah during a post-maintenance stall test conducted in icing conditions. The NTSB’s final report concluded that wing contamination, degraded stall warning cues, and insufficient pilot training and manufacturer guidance led to a loss of control and fatal spin. Investigators found that the airplane stalled at nearly the same moment the stick shaker activated, providing no effective warning, and that the pilots’ control inputs aggravated the stall.

In its notice, the NTSB said it is concerned that “other flight crews tasked to perform such flights may be similarly unprepared” because of deficiencies in training guidance, pilot qualification criteria, stall test planning, and aircraft documentation. The agency said improved stall test pilot training and experience criteria, along with defined stall test plans, would better prepare crews to safely conduct required post-maintenance tests.

One of the urgent recommendations calls on Textron Aviation, the A3EU type certificate holder for Hawker airplanes (including the Hawker 800XP, 850XP, and 900XP business jets), to define manufacturer-authorized pilot training and experience qualification criteria for stall test pilots. Other recommendations call for the company to develop detailed stall test plans, expand those requirements to other affected models, revise airplane manuals to better describe adverse stall behavior and recovery techniques, and inform owners and operators about the circumstances of recent accidents and the elevated risks involved. The NTSB also urged the FAA to require Textron to complete those actions and ensure that the information is properly incorporated into approved manuals.

In an email, Textron acknowledged receiving notice from the NTSB about the recommendations and said, “Textron Aviation takes the NTSB Safety Recommendation seriously, and we will collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review the recommendations. We remain committed to a shared mission with the NTSB and the FAA to provide the flying public with a general aviation system based on transparency, safety, and confidence.”

A separate recommendation calls on NBAA to inform its members about the recent Hawker stall-test accidents and the need for specialized training and experience beyond that of typical line pilots. In an interview with AIN, Douglas Carr, senior v-p for safety, security, sustainability, and international operations at NBAA, said the organization is confident it can meet the NTSB’s request for assistance. Carr said it is not unheard of for NBAA to receive NTSB recommendations and characterized the latest action as part of the agency’s effort to ensure broader dissemination of safety lessons learned. A recommendation in 2014 asked the organization to work with manufacturers and training providers to strengthen pilot training for single-pilot, type-rated turbofan airplanes approved for flight in icing conditions, after a fatal crash of an Embraer Phenom 100 during an icing encounter. NBAA also worked to help educate the business aviation community after a Gulfstream IV accident in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Carr noted that the NTSB is signaling concern that some post-maintenance flights involve risks beyond what typical line pilots may be prepared to handle, with the October 2025 accident shedding a brighter light on related occurrences. Carr added that NBAA has already begun working internally through its safety committee to identify appropriate outreach opportunities and establish a timeline. He said the goal is to help ensure that “greater information from the right sources can be shared with the flight crews to make those kinds of decisions,” particularly in light of recent Hawker accidents that have drawn increased scrutiny from investigators.

The NTSB said the accidents highlight a broader safety issue, warning that unacceptable stall behavior—including uncommanded rolls and spins—can occur during post-maintenance stall testing and that safely conducting those flights requires training, experience, and preparation beyond what is typically provided to operational flight crews.