Corporate Jets

The aircraft departed Naples, Italy, on a ferry flight to Lanseria, with intermediate stops in Luxor and Nairobi. The aircraft was ferried in South Africa to be refurbished as it was recently purchased by a new owner. Because of the border-crossing prohibition a second flight plan was filed via Djibouti City. While cruising at an altitude of 41,000 feet, the aircraft deviated from the initial route and crossed the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. At 1630LT, the aircraft was shot down by ground fire, entered a dive and crashed near the city of Adwa. Three days of negotiation with the Ethiopian government were necessary to clear a rescue team to visit the crash site. The aircraft was totally destroyed and both pilots, a British and a Swedish citizen, 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).