LEARJET 35ATrans-Pacific Jets
Teterboro, NJ, USA · 2017-05-15·N452DA
What happened
NTSB summary, verbatimNTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. The NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-19/02. On May 15, 2017, about 1529 eastern daylight time, a Learjet 35A, N452DA, departed controlled flight while on a circling approach to runway 1 at Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, New Jersey, and impacted a commercial building and parking lot. The pilot-in-command and the second-in-command died; no one on the ground was injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The airplane was registered to A&C Big Sky Aviation, LLC, and was operated by Trans-Pacific Air Charter, LLC, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 1504 and was destined for TEB.
Probable cause
the Board's determinationThe pilot-in-command's (PIC) attempt to salvage an unstabilized visual approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the PIC's decision to allow an unapproved second-in-command to act as pilot flying, the PIC's inadequate and incomplete preflight planning, and the flight crew's lack of an approach briefing. Also contributing to the accident were Trans-Pacific Jets' lack of safety programs that would have enabled the company to identify and correct patterns of poor performance and procedural noncompliance and the Federal Aviation Administration's ineffective Safety Assurance System procedures, which failed to identify these company oversight deficiencies.
Occurrence sequence
3 stepsNTSB coding · CICTT taxonomy- 1 · Approach-circling (IFR)Aerodynamic stall/spindefining event
- 2 · Approach-circling (IFR)Loss of control in flight
- 3 · Approach-circling (IFR)Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
Findings
6 causal · 0 contributing- CAUSEAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Angle of attack — Capability exceeded
- CAUSEPersonnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action selection — Pilot
- CAUSEPersonnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Flight planning/navigation — Pilot
- CAUSEPersonnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Flight planning/navigation — Flight crew
- CAUSEOrganizational issues › Management › Policy/procedure › Adequacy of policy/proc — Operator
- CAUSEOrganizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation — FAA/Regulator
Safety recommendations
3 issuedwhat changed because of this accidentTO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require all Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 operators to establish programs for flight crewmembers who have demonstrated performance deficiencies or experienced failures during training and administer additional oversight and training to address and correct performance deficiencies.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Develop guidance for Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 operators to help them create and implement effective crew resource management training programs.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Review operators’ Learjet 35A operations manuals to determine whether they contain manufacturer-recommended approach speed wind additives and encourage those operators without that information to add it to their operations documents.
NTSB analysis
from the final reportNTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. The NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-19/02. On May 15, 2017, about 1529 eastern daylight time, a Learjet 35A, N452DA, departed controlled flight while on a circling approach to runway 1 at Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, New Jersey, and impacted a commercial building and parking lot. The pilot-in-command and the second-in-command died; no one on the ground was injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The airplane was registered to A&C Big Sky Aviation, LLC, and was operated by Trans-Pacific Air Charter, LLC, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 1504 and was destined for TEB.