Safety
Report Issued on Learjet Crash in the Bahamas
Learjet crew lost situational awareness in their search for the runway.

The Learjet 35A that crashed near Freeport Bahamas on November 9 was operating as a charter flight when, during an instrument approach to Runway 06 at Grand Bahamas International Airport, the aircraft clipped a crane and hit the ground. All nine people aboard the airplane received fatal injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed.

In its preliminary report, the Air Accident Investigation & Prevention Unit of the Bahamas said the airplane had departed Nassau-Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) on an IFR flight plan for the 24-minute flight to Freeport. The crew received the current weather and was cleared for the ILS Z 06 approach. The charts show two cranes at 368 and 369 feet msl just past the outer marker inbound at 4 DME.