Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Gordon Gilbert

Ten fatal accidents involving U.S.-registered business turboprops and jets claimed the lives of 26 crew and passengers in the first nine months versus 12 accidents and 42 fatalities in the same period last year, according to data compiled by AIN. In both comparable periods, three fatal accidents occurred under Part 135, while the rest were under Part 91. The number of incidents also declined and no accidents or incidents were reported under Part 91K fractional operations in the 2023 and 2024 nine-month time frames.
However, non-fatal accidents of U.S.-registered turbine business airplanes climbed to 24 in the first nine months versus 20 in the first three quarters of 2023. Four accidents of N-numbered business jets during the first nine months of this year resulted in 11 fatalities.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The NTSB preliminary report on the February 7 fatal accident involving a Beechcraft Hawker 900XP sheds little light on what might have caused the twinjet to descend seemingly out of control and crash near Westwater, Utah. The two pilots were killed in the Part 91 IFR positioning flight. The pilots planned to perform a stall warning and systems check en route.
Oil pressure warnings preceded the failure of both engines on the February 9 fatal crash of a chartered Bombardier Challenger 604 on a highway while on approach to Naples Municipal Airport in Florida. The two pilots of the Part 135 flight operated by Ace Aviation Services (doing business as Hop-A-Jet) were killed in the accident. The flight attendant and two passengers escaped with minor injuries.
On March 10, an Israel Aircraft Industries 1125 Westwind Astra was involved in a fatal approach accident at Ingalls Field Airport in Hot Springs, Virginia. The airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated by SkyJet Elite as a Part 91 IFR personal flight.
The pilot and passenger lost their lives in a Cessna Citation II when the twinjet crashed on takeoff on August 20. It was on a planned Part 91 personal flight. Weather was day VMC. A pilot-certificated witness reportedly noted that the aircraft’s engines sounded “unusual.” He said the airplane flew down the last 1/3 portion of the 5,003-foot-long runway about 10 feet above the ground in a near-level attitude before colliding with power lines and a restaurant building. The parking brake valve was found in the disengaged position.
In the first nine months of this year, four people died in two non-U.S.-registered business jet accidents versus five deaths in two accidents in the first nine months of 2023. A charter flight on Jan. 20, 2024, was the one non-private fatal accident over the two periods. The air ambulance, Russian-registered Dassault Falcon 10 that crashed into a mountain in Afghanistan, was attempting to make an emergency landing after running low on fuel, according to the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee. The 1978 twinjet was carrying two crew, two passengers, and two medical personnel. The crew and medical workers were injured, while the two passengers were killed.
On July 23, a 1975 Bombardier Learjet 35 crashed in a forest near Matupá, Brazil, during a go-around following a local flight. Investigative officials report that the Brazilian-registered twinjet broke up and burst into flames on impact. In a preliminary report, the accident is described as a “loss of control in flight.” Both occupants died.
U.S.-registered business turboprops were involved in six fatal accidents in each of the first nine months of this year and last year. However, the number of fatalities decreased from 19 in the first three quarters of last year to 15 this year. Except for a Part 135 Pilatus PC-12 air medical crash that killed all five aboard in February 2023, the other 11 accidents in both time frames occurred under Part 91. Two of the 2024 turboprop fatal accidents happened while maneuvering for landing. The remaining four occurred while en route or descending for the approach. Nonfatal accidents increased from 12 to 14 year-over-year.
In the first nine months of this year, 45 people died in 11 accidents of non-U.S.-registered business turboprops compared to eight accidents and 28 deaths in the first three quarters of 2023. Eleven people were killed in two charter crashes this year versus 23 who lost their lives in five charter accidents last year. Meanwhile, non-fatal accidents climbed from 13 last year to 24 this year.

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