Teterboro

After a 5-hour flight, the Westwind jet began its descent to the airport. Air traffic control instructed the flight crew to cross a VOR at 18,000 feet. The flight crew was then instructed to cross an intersection at 6,000 feet. The flight crew needed to descend the airplane 12,000 feet, in 36 nautical miles, to make the crossing restriction. The flight crew acknowledged the clearance, and no further transmissions were received from the airplane. The airplane struck treetops and impacted the ground in a wooded area. The accident flight was the airplane's first flight after maintenance. Work that was accomplished during the maintenance included disassembly and reassembly of the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator. Examination of the actuator at the accident site revealed that components of the actuator were separated and that they displayed no damage where they would have been attached. Examination of the actuator by the Safety Board revealed that the actuator had not been properly assembled in the airplane. A similar actuator was improperly assembled and installed in a static airplane for a ground test. When the actuator was run, the jackscrews of the actuator were observed backing out of the rod end caps within the first few actuations of the pitch trim toward the nose-down position. As the pitch trim continued to be actuated toward the nose-down position, the jackscrews became disconnected from the rod end caps, and the horizontal stabilizer became disconnected from the actuator. The passenger was Peter Lahaye, founder and owner of the Lahaye Laboratories and the aircraft.

The pilot transmitted on unicom that he was on final for runway 24. Following a double fuel starvation power loss the airplane impacted nose low with trees and terrain about 2.6 miles from runway 24. Last fueling occurred on the previous day at Albermarle, NC, the pilot's primary source of fuel, 50 miles from Burlington. The flight proceeded to Burlington, Teterboro, and was returning to Burlington. Total estimated flight time was 4 hours 32 minutes. Fuel burn was calculated to be 361 gallons. Usable fuel was 384 gallons and 24 gallons were recovered from the right center tank. If the fuel transfer pump does not operate 28 gallons will be unusable. That pump was found in the off position. No fuel spillage occurred at the scene. On 2/8/90 the pilot purchased 361 gallons of fuel for N110LT. Lower fuel prices at the favored location were the pilot's reason for fueling there. Examination of engines, propellers, fuel pumps, and other relative components did not reveal any significant discrepancy. Both occupants were killed.

On January 16, 1989, Machen nacelle mounted induction air intercoolers were installed on N6894Y. On December 14, 1989, an annual inspection was performed, and a Machen superstar i-680 kit was installed. On December 21, 1989, N6894Y was at 6,000 feet when the pilot reported a problem with the right engine. The pilot reported a fire in the right engine. A couple of minutes later, he radioed he could not shut down the right engine. At 1034:37 the pilot advised his 'right engine just tore off' and that he was 'in a spin heading down.' The exhaust tailpipe of the left turbocharger on the right engine was found to have separated. Metallurgical examination revealed the tailpipe failed due to fatigue cracking. Records showed that part I of piper service bulletin 920 (engine tailpipe inspection) had been completed, while part II (addition of fire detection system) had not been accomplished due to the lack of available kits. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Witnesses reported a normal takeoff. Radar indicated the aircraft turned right as cleared and began cruise at 1900 feet, heading northwest at 235 knots. 65 seconds after calling clear of the control zone the aircraft's radar track ended. The aircraft was fragmented by the impact with all flight control surfaces and aircraft extremities found at the impact site. Pitch trim was found in the normal cruise setting with gear, flaps, and spoilers in the retracted position. Examination of the engines indicated operation at impact. Aircraft struck the terrain in approx 80° nose down, wings level attitude and heading opposite to the previous direction of flight. In flight simulator tests, with the aircraft initially in level flight at 1,900 feet and then rolled inverted and the pitch control moved aft, the aircraft attitude was similar to the attitude at impact. There were two unauthorized passengers on board, one was the copilot's wife. The impact point was in a very small region of uncontrolled airspace very near the copilot's and relative's homes. The copilot was new to jet operations. The aircraft departed with several discrepancies uncleared. All four occupants were killed.

The copilot (dual student) was to get a prof check on the 1st leg of the flight with a simulated single engine power loss on takeoff. According to witnesses, the takeoff was normal until lift off approximately 3,200 feet down the runway; but after lift-off, the aircraft climbed only about 50 feet and didn't seem to accelerate. They reported the nose pitched up and the aircraft went in a steep bank attitude near the departure end of the runway. Subsequently, it descended and crashed in wooded terrain in a right wing down, nose high attitude. A bystander tried to get in the aircraft to rescue the pilots, but the door was jammed and he was unable to break the cabin windows. A fire erupted and engulfed the aircraft. Due to rough terrain, there was a delay in getting fire fighting equipment to the accident site. No preimpact mechanical failures were found. The gear, flaps and spoilers were found in the retracted position. For takeoff, the flaps should have been extended to the 8° or 20° position. The stall speeds for 20°, 8° and no flaps were 104.5, 109.0 and 119.5 knots, respectively. The captain was an FAA designated flight examiner and a certified flight instructor (cfi).

The Lear 55 taxied out for takeoff and inadvertently attempted a takeoff on the wrong runway. When he realized his mistake, he aborted the takeoff because he knew the runway length was significantly less than his required field length. Insufficient runway also remained for the aborted takeoff and the aircraft ran off the end of the runway and hit a stone wall. The aircraft was destroyed by fire and the copilot received minor injuries while the pilot and the passenger were not injured.

Airplane crashed during a uncontrolled descent, following a turbulence upset at FL370. The upset occurred as a result of clear air turbulences associated with a vip level 6 thunderstorm located within 7 miles of the last position of the airplane. After the upset, the airplane penetrated and descended thru the cell which contained lightning, extreme turbulences and severe icing. During the upset/descent both engines flamed out and the crew's attempts to recover the airplane were unsuccessful due to conditions in the cell. Crew received an improper briefing from FSS and reported their radar was malfunctioning to the deputy controller. Sigmet and AWW info was not given during the briefing. As the airplane came out of the bottom of the cell at 4,000 feet, the crew overstressed the airplane causing the left main landing door to separate and hit the left horizontal stab which subsequently separated in overload. Impact was 82° nose down. Nature of the airplane radar malfunction could not be determined. All seven occupants were killed.

During IFR flight at 12,000 feet both aircraft vacuum pumps failed. Aircraft descended in right turn off radar. Witnesses observed aircraft at low altitude above trees, circle, make steep left turn, climb and descend to ground. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

A 100-feet ceiling with 3,000 feet RVR existed at Detroit. The pilot attempted an ILS approach with a 200 feet dh when he struck trees one mile from the runway. He flew the aircraft to the airfield but crashed near the threshold. The only approach plates found onboard were for Detroit and Midway in Chicago. Midway was his final destination after Detroit. He did not have enough fuel to get to Midway. The rest of his approach plates were later found in his personal vehicle back in Pennsylvania. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

A Dassault Falcon 50 jet (N784B) and an Air Pegasus Piper PA-28-181 Archer (N1977H) collided about 1500 feet over the towns of Fairview and Cliffside Park, New Jersey, USA. The Falcon 50 was cleared for a standard instrument approach procedure in visual meteorological conditions and was in a left turn to position itself on the downwind leg to runway 19 at the Teterboro Airport, and the PA-28 was transiting the airport traffic area from west to east when they collided. The accident occurred 4 1/2 miles east-southeast at the edge of the airport traffic area in visual meteorological conditions. Both airplanes had been in radio contact with the Teterboro control tower. The flightcrew, the only occupants aboard the Falcon 50, and the pilot and two passengers onboard the PA-28 were killed. The Falcon 50 crashed into an apartment building killing one resident and seriously injuring two bystanders.