The investigation continues into last month’s fatal crash of a Gulfstream G650 during a test flight at Roswell, N.M., and it may be more than a year before the cause of the accident is determined, according to the NTSB. Tom Latson, the NTSB investigator in charge of the accident, told AIN the Board will be conducting “a thorough investigation” and confirmed that the aircraft was equipped with a telemetry data downlink. That could potentially provide the investigators with a trove of additional clues, beyond those from the twinjet’s CVR and FDR. Aside from Gulfstream, other parties to the investigation include the FAA, Parker Aerospace (manufacturer of the aircraft’s fly-by-wire flight control system) Rolls-Royce Engines and the German Accident Investigation Bureau (as the 16,100-pound-thrust BR725A1-12 engines on the aircraft were manufactured in Germany).
In its preliminary report released four days after the April 2 crash, the NTSB said the aircraft was performing a takeoff with a simulated engine failure to determine takeoff distance requirements at minimum flap setting. The G650, S/N 6002, registered as N652GD took off at approximately 9:30 a.m. from the main Runway 21 at Roswell International Air Center Airport in Roswell, N.M. in clear weather with a 15-knotcrosswind from the left.
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