Accidents
Bombardier Safety Standdown: Surviving the Fire
Preparation and training resulted in a survivable accident
Kevin Van Splunder Bombardier Safety Standdown
Contract pilot Kevin Van Splunder tells the Bombardier Safety Standdown audience about his harrowing experience in a Citation X+ that caught on fire after smoke in the cockpit led to an extremely hard emergency landing. © Screenshot/Bombardier Safety Standdown

At this year’s Bombardier Safety Standdown, contract pilot Kevin Van Splunder took the stage to share his experience during an extremely hard landing and subsequent fire in a Cessna Citation X+ on August 5 in Jamestown, New York.

Details about what caused the failures in the airplane aren’t yet available, but Van Splunder shared an image of the flight track of the airplane during its short seven-minute flight. “I've learned, I've applied—and you'll understand why—and now I'm here to share it,” he told the audience.