British Aerospace BAe-125-700A – N237WR

Incident Overview

Date: Tuesday 10 November 2015

Aircraft Type: British Aerospace BAe-125-700A

Owner/operator: Execuflight

Registration Number: N237WR

Location: 3,2 km NE of Akron-Fulton International Airport, OH (AKC) – ÿ United States of America

Phase of Flight: Approach

Status: Destroyed, written off

Casualties: Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9

Component Affected: Aircraft Flight Control System (particularly the APU)Aircraft Flight Control System (particularly the APU)

Investigating Agency: NTSBNTSB

Category: Accident

A BAe-125-700A corporate jet impacted an apartment building and embankment on final approach to runway 25 at Akron Fulton International Airport, Ohio. Nine occupants were killed. The aircraft, flight EFT1526, departed Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, Ohio at 14:13 hours local time. The first officer, Pilot Flying, was directing the approach. Radar vectors were provided to the accident airplane by the Akron-Canton terminal radar approach control facility, followed by a Piper PA-28-161 airplane preceding the BAe-125. The Piper pilot broke out at minimums, landing on runway 25. The captain, after a discussion about a high pitch and a potential recurrence of decreasing speed, made a change to the advisory frequency. The flight instructor on the Piper directed the airplane to land on minimums. ATC transmission indicated a high pitch and a concern about a reduction in speed, prompting the captain to discuss a stall. The captain initiated a descent to minimums, followed by windshield wipers and a ground proximity warning system (GPWS) alert. The aircraft banked to the left, clipping electrical and telephone wires. It then slammed into an apartment building and landed in an embankment. Preliminary investigation revealed both pilots were newly hired by Execuflight in June 2015. The captain’s previous employment was terminated due to failure to attend a Hawker 800A Recurrent Training session. The first officer’s previous employment was terminated due to ‘unsatisfactory work performance,’ stemming from struggles with memory items and weight and balance calculations. The pilot’s previous employment was terminated because he failed to show up for a Hawker 800A Recurrent Training session. The weight and balance of the aircraft was incorrect, with the APU not being included in the Basic Operating Weight. The aircraft exceeded its maximum takeoff weight by 286 pounds and the landing weight exceeded the maximum landing weight by the same amount. The probable cause was a combination of flight crew mismanagement of the approach, multiple deviations from company SOPs, and a lack of sufficient oversight by Execuflight, the company’s inadequate hiring, training, and operational oversight, and the FAA’s insufficient oversight of the company’s training program and flight operations.A BAe-125-700A corporate jet impacted an apartment building and embankment on final approach to runway 25 at Akron Fulton International Airport, Ohio. Nine occupants were killed. The aircraft, flight EFT1526, departed Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, Ohio at 14:13 hours local time. The first officer, Pilot Flying, was directing the approach. Radar vectors were provided to the accident airplane by the Akron-Canton terminal radar approach control facility, followed by a Piper PA-28-161 airplane preceding the BAe-125. The Piper pilot broke out at minimums, landing on runway 25. The captain, after a discussion about a high pitch and a potential recurrence of decreasing speed, made a change to the advisory frequency. The flight instructor on the Piper directed the airplane to land on minimums. ATC transmission indicated a high pitch and a concern about a reduction in speed, prompting the captain to discuss a stall. The captain initiated a descent to minimums, followed by windshield wipers and a ground proximity warning system (GPWS) alert. The aircraft banked to the left, clipping electrical and telephone wires. It then slammed into an apartment building and landed in an embankment. Preliminary investigation revealed both pilots were newly hired by Execuflight in June 2015. The captain’s previous employment was terminated due to failure to attend a Hawker 800A Recurrent Training session. The first officer’s previous employment was terminated due to ‘unsatisfactory work performance,’ stemming from struggles with memory items and weight and balance calculations. The pilot’s previous employment was terminated because he failed to show up for a Hawker 800A Recurrent Training session. The weight and balance of the aircraft was incorrect, with the APU not being included in the Basic Operating Weight. The aircraft exceeded its maximum takeoff weight by 286 pounds and the landing weight exceeded the maximum landing weight by the same amount. The probable cause was a combination of flight crew mismanagement of the approach, multiple deviations from company SOPs, and a lack of sufficient oversight by Execuflight, the company’s inadequate hiring, training, and operational oversight, and the FAA’s insufficient oversight of the company’s training program and flight operations.

Description

A BAe-125-700A corporate jet was destroyed when it impacted an apartment building and an embankment while on final approach to runway 25 at Akron Fulton International Airport, Ohio. The building, located at 3041 Mogadore Road, about 3200 m short of the runway threshold, burst into flames. All nine occupants of the aircraft were killed. No one was injured inside the building. The airplane, flight EFT1526, departed Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, Ohio at 14:13 hours local time. The first officer was Pilot Flying. About 14:38, the Akron-Canton terminal radar approach control facility provided radar vectors to the accident airplane for the localizer runway 25 instrument approach procedure at Akron Airport. A Piper PA-28-161 airplane performing flight training at the airport was preceding the BAe-125 on the approach. According to the flight instructor on board the Piper, the airplane “broke out at minimums” on the localizer runway 25 approach and landed on runway 25. This information was relayed to the accident aircraft after it reported over the Unicom frequency. About 14:49, the captain made mention of a high pitch and a concern about a recurrence of decreasing speed, and the first officer mentioned the planned approach speed. At 14:50 the captain had a discussion with the first officer about not wanting to stall the airplane. The last ATC transmission from EFT1526 occurred about 14:50 when they advised ATC they were changing to the advisory frequency. Full flaps were requested by the FO about 14:51, and about a minute later the first officer called out a descent to minimums. About 14:52, the captain made mention of diving 2,000 feet per minute, followed by the cockpit sounds of the windshield wipers and the captain mentioning the ground. About 14:52, the captain made a call out to level off, followed by the sounds similar to a stick shaker and a ground proximity warning system (GPWS) aural alert. The aircraft was seen banking to the left as it clipped electrical and telephone wires on Mogadore Road. It then hit an apartment building and slammed into an embankment. Preliminary investigation findings show that both accident pilots were newly hires by Execuflight in June 2015. The captain’s previous employment was terminated after he failure to show up for a Hawker 800A Recurrent Training session. The first officer’s previous employment was terminated due to “unsatisfactory work performance.” During training he struggled among others with memory items and weight and balance calculations. The fact that the first officer was Pilot Flying was contrary to company policy. First officers normally only fly empty legs. Also, the weight and balance of the accident flight was incorrect because, among others, the weight of the APU had not been included in the Basic Operating Weight. On departure the maximum takeoff weight was exceeded by 286 pounds. The estimated landing weight exceeded the maximum landing weight by the same amount. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The NTSB determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crews mismanagement of the approach and multiple deviations from company SOPs, which placed the airplane in an unsafe situation and led to an unstabilized approach, a descent below MDA without visual contact with the runway environment, and an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident were Execuflights casual attitude toward compliance with standards; its inadequate hiring, training, and operational oversight of the flight crew; the companys lack of a formal safety program; and the FAAs insufficient oversight of the companys training program and flight operations.”

Source of Information

http://www.fox10tv.com/story/30484097/2-killed-after-plane-crash-into-akron-house, http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/akron-canton-news/plane-crashed-into-apartment-building-on-mogadore-road-in-akron, http://wdtn.com/2015/11/10/plane-crashes-into-northeast-ohio-apartment/http://www.fox10tv.com/story/30484097/2-killed-after-plane-crash-into-akron-house, http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/akron-canton-news/plane-crashed-into-apartment-building-on-mogadore-road-in-akron, http://wdtn.com/2015/11/10/plane-crashes-into-northeast-ohio-apartment/

Primary Cause

The flight crew’s mismanagement of the approach, including multiple deviations from company SOPs, a descent below MDA without visual contact with the runway environment, and an aerodynamic stall, placed the airplane in an unsafe situation.The flight crew’s mismanagement of the approach, including multiple deviations from company SOPs, a descent below MDA without visual contact with the runway environment, and an aerodynamic stall, placed the airplane in an unsafe situation.

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