Accidents
Expectation Bias, Distraction Led to Runway Collision
Hawker took off without clearance and hit a Citation Mustang at a runway intersection
View of both airplanes flight tracks with the area the ground collision occurred highlighted in yellow.
View of both airplanes flight tracks in the Oct. 24, 2023 accident. The ground collision occurred in the area highlighted in yellow. The blue line represents N510HM, and the red line represents N269AA. © Google Earth/NTSB

Crew “expectation bias and distraction” led to a Hawker 850XP taking off without a clearance and colliding with a landing Cessna Citation Mustang on an intersecting runway at Houston Hobby Airport (KHOU) on Oct. 24, 2023, according to the NTSB final report. The Mustang—on landing rollout—was substantially damaged when, on lift off, the Hawker’s left wingtip struck the left side of the Citation’s tail cone. The Hawker, with minor damage, returned to land. Daylight VMC prevailed.

There were no injuries to the two pilots and one passenger aboard the Hawker, which was operating under Part 135, or to the one pilot and three passengers aboard the Mustang being operated under Part 91.