Safety
Recent spate of accidents reinforces importance of following procedures
Why, when the safety record of professionally flown turbine twins is so impressive, did four business aircraft experience fatal accidents during a five-wee

Why, when the safety record of professionally flown turbine twins is so impressive, did four business aircraft experience fatal accidents during a five-week period late last year? Three were fan-powered–a Learjet 35A, a Gulfstream III and a Challenger 601–and one was a King Air 200. There was a highly qualified two-person crew at the controls of each aircraft. Three of the four airplanes were operating in accordance with Part 91. Only the Challenger was operating under Part 135 regulations.

If you expect to find in this column an explanation of why these mishaps occurred, you will be disappointed. It probably will be months before the NTSB releases findings of probable cause.