Northeast Jet

The crew was positioning the aircraft in preparation for a revenue flight and executing a non-directional beacon (NDB) approach to runway 05. The captain reported that the copilot was flying the aircraft. However, the captain stated that he took control of the aircraft during the approach and made some control corrections before returning control of the aircraft to the copilot. Radar data indicated that aircraft control was erratic throughout the approach and that the airspeed and descent rates were high (3,000 fpm sink rate) shortly before the accident. The aircraft struck a fence short of the runway and impacted the ground. The captain said he realized the aircraft was drifting left of course but did not correct it. He said he told the copilot to add power twice during the approach. The copilot's training history indicated difficulty in control, scan of instruments, and with instrument procedures. Company management described the captain as passive and the copilot as aggressive. Supervision of training and operations by management and surveillance of the company by the FAA was considered inadequate by NTSB.

After lift-off a flock of birds approached from left to right at about 400 feet. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft behind and above the birds in an attempt to avoid them. Both engines flamed out and the aircraft made a forced landing on a road. Ground witnesses described the climbout as '...very steep...' and '...a steep angle, between 40° 45°.' There was some bird residue on the engines. Both pilots escaped uninjured.

The aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, from West Palm Beach, Florida. Only the pilot and copilot were on board the aircraft. About 2 1/2 minutes after the aircraft was reported at Flight Level 430 in the vicinity of the Covia Intersection on Airway J58, the Jacksonville, Florida, Air Route Traffic Control Center received an unusual staccato sound transmission over the frequency, followed 18 seconds later by a report from the copilot, "Can't get it up...it's in a spin..." About 33 seconds after the first staccato sounds, radio and radar contact with N125NE was lost about 104 miles west of Sarasota, Florida. Floating debris were located by a search aircraft and later recovered; the flightcrew was not found. There were no known witnesses to the crash.