Brunswick-Malcolm McKinnon

On September 21, 2023, about 1436 eastern daylight time, an Embraer SA EMB-525, N434FX, operated by Flexjet LLC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near St. Simons Island, Georgia. The pilot, copilot and six passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91K fractional flight. The flight departed Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York at 1239, destined for St. Simons Island Airport (SSI), St. Simons Island, Georgia. According to the pilot, the departure and en route phases of the flight were uneventful. During the arrival phase into SSI they elected to fly the RNAV (GPS) Runway 4 approach to allow them to be better aligned and setup for the landing. Checklists and callouts were conducted, and the approach was stable. After the 500 ft stable callout was made the airplane crossed over a small section of trees and rose slightly. The airplane then began to porpoise slightly when it was about 100 to 150 ft above mean sea level. The pilot tried to make corrections, but the airplane was not responding to his control inputs. The airplane then landed hard and slid along the runway, coming to rest in the grass off of runway 4. After the airplane came to rest, they evacuated the passengers safely and powered down the airplane. According to the copilot, the flight from HPN to SSI was uneventful until the final few seconds. When they were cleared for the approach, the pilot configured the airplane, slowed appropriately, and selected “Flaps 3” for the landing. The checklists were completed, and they had the runway in sight when they were 10 miles from the airport. No other traffic was identified as being in the airport traffic pattern and they prepared to land. The copilot made the “500’, Stabilized, 20 knot of headwind” callout at approximately 500 ft’. As the airplane crossed above the airport property, it began to pitch rapidly up and down. The copilot then looked over at the pilot’s hand on the control side sick and he could see him moving it back and forth excessively. He then said something along the lines of “Take it easy there,” and the pilot replied that the airplane was not responding. At that point the airplane was “maybe 50 ft” above the runway. The airplane touched down hard, prior to the runway threshold, on centerline, bounced and then touched down again. The airplane was listing to the right and skidding on the runway while slowly drifting to the right. The airplane slid off the runway and onto the grass where it hit a concrete sign base before it came to rest on the grass. Prior to opening the main cabin door, the copilot realized that both engines were still running. He then asked the pilot to shut down engines so that he could open the door to deplane the passengers. The copilot observed fuel gushing from the belly of the airplane when he exited. Examination of the accident site and airplane revealed that the airplane was substantially damaged. Both main landing gear were damaged, and the struts had punctured the top of the wings. During the impact sequence the airplane skidded down runway 4 for approximately 2,531 ft, then departed the right side of the runway, shearing off eight runway lights, one taxiway light, and destroying the taxiway A4 directional sign. The right main landing gear separated from the airplane and the leading edge of the right wing was damaged consistent with the impact with the taxiway sign. The airplane then went across taxiway A4, coming to rest between runway 4, taxiway A, and taxiway A4. The total distance from the airplane’s touchdown to where the airplane came to rest was approximately 3,083 ft. The reported wind at SSI about the time of the accident was from 050° at 13 knots, gusting to 23 knots. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and pilot records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate, with a rating for airplane multi engine land, and commercial privileges for airplane single engine land and single engine sea. He also held type ratings on the BE-300, BE-400, CE-560XL, CE-650, CL-600, EMB-550, HS-125, and MU-300. His most recent FAA firstclass medical certificate was issued on June 13, 2023. He reported that he had accrued approximately 10,900 total flight hours, with 1,872 hours in the airplane make and model. According to FAA and pilot records, the copilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi engine land, and commercial privileges for airplane single engine land. He also held type ratings on the A-310, A-320, B-757, B-767, DC-9, DC-10, EMB-550, and LR-JET. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on June 13, 2023. He reported that he had accrued approximately 16,686 total flight hours, with 306 hours in the airplane make and model. According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 2020. The airplane’s most recent continuous airworthiness inspection was completed on April 11, 2023, at 2,863 total hours of operation.

The airline transport pilot, who was the pilot flying, and commercial pilot, who was the pilot not flying and was acting as a safety pilot and was not expected to know the airplane's systems, limitations, or characteristics, were preparing to depart for a personal flight with eight passengers on board. When the pilot arrived at the airport, he determined that the airplane had 900 lbs of fuel onboard. He instructed the lineman to fuel the airplane with 211 gallons of fuel (1,413.7 lbs) for a fuel total of 2,313.7 lbs. The pilot reported that he was aware that the total weight of the eight passengers, their bags, and the fuel caused the airplane to be overweight but that he did not complete a weight and balance form or determine the expected takeoff performance before the flight. He informed the other pilot that the flight would be heavy, but he did not tell him how much the airplane exceeded the airplane's maximum gross takeoff weight. After the accident, the pilot determined that the airplane was 623 lbs over the maximum gross takeoff weight. The pilot reported that the airplane's flight controls and engines were operating normally during the pretakeoff check and that the elevator pitch trim was positioned in the "green" range. The pilot taxied the airplane onto the runway and applied the brakes and increased the throttles to takeoff power before releasing the brakes for the takeoff roll. However, he did not confirm the power settings that he applied when he advanced the throttles. The airplane did not accelerate as quickly as the pilot expected during the takeoff roll. When the airplane was about halfway down the runway, the airspeed was 80 kts, so the pilot continued the takeoff roll, but the airplane was still not accelerating as expected. He stated that he heard the other pilot say "redline," so he decreased the power. At this point, the airplane had reached the last third of the runway, and the pilot pulled back on the control yoke to lift the airplane off the runway, but the stall warning sounded. He lowered the nose, but the airplane was near the end of the runway. He added that he did not get "on" the brakes or put the propellers into reverse pitch and that the airplane then departed the runway. The pilot veered the airplane right to avoid the instrument landing system antenna, which was 500 ft from the end of the 5,500-ft-long runway, but the left wing struck the antenna, the left main landing gear and nose gear collapsed, and both propellers contacted the ground. The airplane then skidded left before stopping about 680 ft from the end of the runway. The pilot reported that the airplane did not have any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures. The evidence indicates that the pilot decided to depart knowing that the airplane was over its maximum gross takeoff weight and without determining the expected takeoff performance. During the takeoff roll, he did not check his engine instruments to determine if he had applied full takeoff power, although the acceleration may have been sluggish because of the excess weight onboard. The other pilot was not trained on the airplane and was not able to provide the pilot timely performance information during the takeoff. Neither the pilot nor the other pilot called out for an aborted takeoff, and when they recognized the need to abort the takeoff, it was too late to avoid a runway excursion.

Witnesses reported that the airplane suddenly turned or rolled left until the wings were perpendicular to the ground. The airplane then fell in a nose-down attitude. Examination of the left propeller components indicated a blade angle of about 3°, while the left propeller control unit (pcu) ballscrew position was consistent with a commanded blade angle of 79.2°. Extreme wear on the pcu quill spline teeth, which normally engaged the titanium-nitrided splines of the propeller transfer tube, was found. The titanium-nitrided surface was much harder and rougher than the nitrided surface of the quill. Therefore, the transfer tube splines acted like a file and caused abnormal wear of the gear teeth on the quill. Wear of the quill was not considered during the certification of the propeller system. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 23 occupants were killed, among them John Goodwin Tower, Senator of Texas and the astronaut Manley Sonny Carter.

While taxiing at Brunswick-Malcolm McKinnon Airport, a fie erupted on board and the crew immediately stopped the airplane. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.