Aircraft
Problems on earlier SJ30-2 flight reported
The Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 that crashed in a remote area of Texas on the morning of April 26 was on the second in a series of flights to complete flutter c

The Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 that crashed in a remote area of Texas on the morning of April 26 was on the second in a series of flights to complete flutter certification before it suddenly rolled and went into an uncontrolled descent into the ground. Company test pilot Carroll Beeler, 59, was killed in the accident. No one else was aboard.

It is now known that the Williams-Rolls FJ44-2A-twinjet had problems on its first flight in the same series on the previous day. That flight was curtailed after the airplane encountered an uncommanded roll to the left and a possible encounter with Mach buffet. What follows below are excerpts from the NTSB’s May 16 preliminary report.

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