Executive/Corporate/Business

The crew was completing a flight from San Francisco to Santa Fe with intermediate stops in San Diego and Phoenix. At Sky Harbor Airport, the airplane landed on its belly, slid for several dozen yards and came to rest in flames. While all seven occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was destroyed.

En route from Greenville, Mississippi, to Montgomery, Alabama, both engines failed almost simultaneously. The pilot reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing when the airplane struck tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located in Central Mills. While both passengers were slightly injured, the pilot was seriously wounded.

A Gates Learjet 24, N454RN, operated as a corporate flight by Machinery Buyers Corp., crashed following takeoff from runway 20L at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, Atlanta, Georgia. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. The two crewmembers and five passengers were fatally injured and one person on the ground sustained serious burns. An apartment building was damaged, three parked vehicles were destroyed, and another vehicle was damaged by impact and fire. The pilot had filed an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan from Atlanta, Georgia, to Miami, Florida, with a proposed departure time of 09:50 and an en route altitude of Flight Level 410. The flight was cleared for takeoff from runway 20L at 10:10. The weather at the time of the accident was overcast, with ceiling 500 feet, visibility 4 miles in fog and smoke, wind 060° at 4 knots, altimeter setting 30.20 inches. Ground witnesses stated that the airplane had made a normal take-off, but was trailing blue-white or blue-gray smoke when it crossed the airport boundary. The following conversation with the flight was recorded by the airport control tower:
Tower - "Lear 454RN it appeared the left engine laid a pretty good layer of smoke out of the left side there for approximately 300 or 400 feet."
454RN - "We just hit some birds."
Tower - "Roger, you turning to land?"
454RN - "Don't believe we're gonna make it." (Last transmission by the crew.
The aircraft climbed to a height about 250 to 300 feet above the ground before it started to settle in a nose-high attitude. The airplane collided initially with the roof of a three-story apartment building, approximately 2 miles south-southwest of the airport. The wreckage came to rest in a wooded ravine adjacent to a busy highway, 165 feet southwest of the damaged building. The airplane's takeoff path was over a residential area which contained numerous apartment complexes, shopping centers, and busy thoroughfares. A suitable emergency landing site was not available. The airplane's windshield and center post contained bird residue and bird feathers. After the accident, the remains of 15 cowbirds were found within 150 feet of the departure end of runway 20L. Both engines showed distortion and foreign object damage to the compressor rotor assemblies. Foreign material obstructed approximately 75 percent of the cooling air ports of the first-stage turbine nozzles.

After takeoff from Milwaukee-Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport, while climbing, the pilot informed ATC about technical problems with the left engine and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. While trying to join the approach path, he lost control of the airplane that crashed in flames on a road located in Brookfield, about five miles southwest of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and all four occupants were killed.

While in cruising altitude on a flight from Salem to Seattle, the pilot encountered icing conditions and was cleared to divert to Portland. Shortly later, control was lost and the airplane entered a dive. Both wings and elevators separated prior to final impact. All three occupants were killed.

The crew started the approach to Paris Airport by night and poor weather conditions. On final in heavy rain showers, the pilot-in-command passed below the minimum descent altitude when the twin engine airplane struck trees and crashed in flames. All four occupants were killed.

On approach to Palm Springs Airport, the twin engine airplane went out of control and crashed in an isolated area. The wreckage was found a day later and all three occupants were killed.

The crew started an ILS approach to Cedar Rapids Airport in poor weather conditions when control was lost. The airplane dove into the ground and crashed in an open field located few miles from the airport. The twin engine airplane was totally destroyed and all five occupants have been killed. It was determined that in poor weather conditions, the left wing, left engine and tail separated in flight, causing the aircraft to be uncontrollable.

On final approach to Stapleford Airfield in poor weather conditions, the pilot failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck trees located 2,400 meters short of runway threshold. The aircraft stalled and crashed in a field, injuring both occupants.

The crew started the approach to Saranac Lake-Adirondack Airport by night and encountered poor visibility due to fog and snow showers. Unable to locate the runway, the captain decided to abandon the approach and initiated a go-around. Few minutes later, a second attempt to land was also abandoned for similar reasons. During a third attempt, the airplane passed below the MDA and once at an altitude of 2,140 feet, it struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located about 2 miles short of runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.