Contributor - Safety

David Jack Kenny

<h2><strong>Preliminary Reports</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>CVR Failed To Record in Fatal Medevac Crash</strong></h3>
<p>Bombardier Learjet 55, Jan. 31, 2025, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</p>
<p>The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) failed to record before and during the January 31 crash in Philadelphia and may not have recorded on any flights for several years, according to the preliminary NTSB report. After departing Northeast Philadelphia Airport (KPNE) at 6:07 p.m. EST, the Learjet went down approximately one minute after takeoff, killing both pilots, two medical crewmembers, and two patients onboard, along with two people on the ground.</p>
<p>ADS-B data showed the airplane departed Runway 24 and climbed to 1,650 feet msl before descending to 1,275 feet at a groundspeed of 242 knots while in a left turn. No distress calls were received from the flight crew, who were in contact with the KPNE tower.</p>
<p>The aircraft initially struck a concrete sidewalk, triggering a large explosion captured on security video. Wreckage and debris spread across a 1,410-foot by 840-foot area, impacting buildings, homes, and vehicles. One commercial sign struck during the descent indicated a 22-degree descent angle.</p>
<p>The CVR was located under eight feet of debris but had not recorded audio. Night IMC prevailed at the time, with a 400-foot overcast ceiling, 6 miles visibility, and surface winds from 220 degrees at 9 knots.</p>
<p>The pilot-in-command held an airline transport pilot certificate with 9,200 hours of flight time; the second-in-command had 2,600 hours of flight time and held a commercial certificate. Both held type ratings for the Learjet 55.</p>
<h2><strong>Jet Blast Suspected in Caravan Upset</strong></h2>
<h3>Cessna 208B, March 14, 2025, Dallas, Texas</h3>
<p>A Cessna Caravan taxiing onto Runway 17R of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) was abruptly pitched onto its left wingtip, causing a propeller strike and “substantial damage” to the left wing. The upset occurred 24 seconds after a departing Airbus A321 began its takeoff roll on the same runway.</p>
<p>Surface winds of 18 knots gusting to 27 from 170 degrees likely extended the “danger area” behind the Airbus’ engines, estimated at 1,150 feet in a no-wind condition. The A321 had travelled 1,500 to 2,000 feet when the Caravan was cleared to line up and wait. The accident occurred as its pilot aligned the aircraft with the centerline.</p>
<h2><strong>Five Injured in HondaJet Overrun</strong></h2>
<h3>Honda Aircraft HA-420, April 7, 2025, North Bend, Oregon</h3>
<p>One passenger suffered serious injuries when the light jet ran off the end of Runway 5 of Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (KOTH), through the overrun area, and into Coos Bay. The pilot and three other passengers sustained minor injuries. The Part 91 corporate flight originated from St. George, Utah, a route the pilot had flown every Monday morning for the past year to transport the operator’s employees.</p>
<p>The pilot described entering the landing conditions, including a wet runway, into the airplane flight management system (AFMS) to obtain a required landing distance of 4,200 feet at a reference speed of 113 knots. He said they touched down 1,000 feet past the approach end of the 5,980-foot runway at about that speed; braking initially felt normal, but became ineffective halfway down the runway. Unable to stop, he steered right to avoid the localizer antenna. After leaving the pavement the airplane rolled through grass and mud and down a 15-foot embankment into the bay. All occupants escaped through the main cabin door.</p>
<p>ADS-B data confirmed that the HondaJet touched down near the runway’s aiming point, but at a ground speed of 128 knots. Investigators repeated the AFMS calculations with the same input values and obtained a required landing distance of 5,910 feet at a reference speed of 111 knots. ADS-B data from the five previous flights showed similar profiles aside from a slightly higher touchdown speed on the accident flight.</p>
<h2><strong>Midair Breakup in Hudson River Tour Flight</strong></h2>
<h3>Bell 206L-4, April 10, 2025, Jersey City, New Jersey</h3>
<p>A Bell 206L-4 helicopter on an aerial tour flight broke apart in flight and fell into the Hudson River near Jersey City, killing the pilot and all five passengers. The aircraft had departed Downtown Manhattan/Wall Street Heliport (KJRB) at 2:58 p.m. for what was the pilot’s eighth tour flight of the day. The accident occurred at about 3:15 p.m.</p>
<p>ADS-B data showed the helicopter flew south of the Statue of Liberty before turning north up the East River corridor past the George Washington Bridge. It then reversed course and proceeded south along the New Jersey shoreline. Near the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers, the helicopter climbed from 625 to 675 feet msl before entering a rapid descent. The final data point recorded an altitude of 125 feet.</p>
<p>Witnesses reported hearing loud “bangs” before the helicopter broke up midair. Video footage showed the aircraft separating into three main sections: fuselage, main rotor system, and tail boom. The fuselage came to rest inverted in six feet of water; other major components were located submerged to depths of 30 feet.</p>
<p>The helicopter was not equipped with onboard data or video recorders. The pilot held a commercial certificate with rotorcraft--instrument ratings and had logged 790.2 total hours, including 48.6 in the Bell 206.</p>
<h2><strong>Final Reports</strong></h2>
<h2><strong>Fatal Depressurization Remains Unexplained</strong></h2>
<h3>Cessna Citation 560, June 4, 2023, Montebello, Virginia</h3>
<p>Incapacitation from hypoxia following a loss of cabin pressure was cited as a contributing factor in the crash, but the NTSB was unable to pinpoint the cause of the depressurization. The single pilot and three passengers were killed when the twin-engine jet spiraled down onto a Virginia mountainside after overflying its destination of Islip, New York, and turning back toward its point of origin, flying southwest at 34,000 feet until it presumably exhausted its fuel. Fighter pilots who scrambled to intercept the airplane after it penetrated the Washington, D.C., Flight Restricted Zone reported seeing no “holes or missing windows or doors,” smoke in the cockpit, or frost on the windows. The pilot was slumped over into the copilot’s seat and did not respond to radio calls, intercept maneuvers, or flares.</p>
<p>The flight had departed from Elizabethton, Tennessee. Radio contact was lost after the pilot read back a clearance to his filed altitude of 34,000 feet while climbing through 26,600. An instruction three minutes later went unanswered.</p>
<p>Most components of the pressurization and emergency oxygen systems were destroyed in the crash. Maintenance records from the previous month listed 26 discrepancies that the owner had declined to resolve, “including several related to the pressurization and environmental control system.” Two days before the accident, a mechanic saw that the pilot-side oxygen mask was not installed, and the supplemental oxygen supply “was at its minimum servicing level.”</p>
<p>The 69-year-old pilot, a retired airline captain, had an estimated 34,500 hours and 850 make-and-model.</p>
<h2><strong>Rescue Helicopter Caught in Vortex Ring State</strong></h2>
<h3>Kawasaki BK117 B-2, Sept. 19, 2023, Mt. Pirongia, North Island, New Zealand</h3>
<p>The Transport Accident Investigation Commission concluded that it was “virtually certain that the helicopter entered a vortex ring state while descending on the windward side of a ridge line” while attempting to set up for winch extraction of an injured hiker. After making a 180-degree climbing turn towards the patient’s location, the pilot began descending to set up for winch deployment. When he slowed to less than 60 knots to allow the rear cabin door to be opened, “the helicopter suddenly and unexpectedly dropped.”</p>
<p>The pilot was unable to arrest the descent and focused on mitigating the impact as the ship crashed through the tree canopy onto the ground. All three crew members escaped without injury, and the pilot and winch operator helped the paramedic treat the patient and prepare for extraction.</p>
<h2><strong>IMC Encounter Led to Fatal Night Helicopter Crash</strong></h2>
<h3>Airbus Helicopters EC130, Feb. 9, 2024, Halloran Springs, California</h3>
<p>The pilot’s decision to continue a night VFR charter into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) led to spatial disorientation and a fatal crash near Halloran Springs, California, according to the NTSB’s final report. The crash occurred at 10:08 p.m. local time, killing all six occupants, two pilots and four passengers.</p>
<p>Operated under Part 135, the helicopter departed Palm Springs International Airport (KPSP) at 8:45 p.m. after a delay. About 80 minutes later, it struck mountainous desert terrain in dark, rainy, and snowy conditions.</p>
<p>The aircraft’s radar altimeter, required under Part 135 rules, was known to be inoperative before the flight. The company president, who also served as the flight follower with operational control, reported that he told the pilot not to depart if the altimeter was not functioning. A mechanic attempted repairs but did not resolve the issue, and the helicopter completed a positioning leg before beginning the charter flight.</p>
<p>While waiting at KPSP for a delayed passenger, the crew did not obtain a formal preflight weather briefing or update the flight risk assessment. During that time, the National Weather Service issued updates indicating deteriorating conditions with rain and snow showers across the route.</p>
<p>The flight launched under night VFR with “no moon illumination,” intending to follow lit freeways to Boulder City Municipal Airport (KBVU) in Nevada. Terrain surrounded the route, and visibility dropped as conditions worsened. About 10 miles from the crash site, the helicopter slowed, descended, and briefly deviated from the freeway corridor before returning to its planned track. Shortly after, the aircraft’s airspeed and altitude increased, followed by a sustained right turn and rapid descent into terrain. The rotorcraft impacted in a high-energy, right-side-low attitude. There was no evidence of mechanical failure.</p>
<p>Although the pilot had been trained in inadvertent IMC recovery, the flight profile deviated from that guidance. The NTSB cited spatial disorientation as a contributing factor. Organizational failure was also a factor. “Company management...failed to exercise ground and flight operational control to cancel or modify the flight,” the report noted.</p>
<p>—<em>Amy Wilder contributed to this report</em></p>


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