Saturday, April 02, 2022

Boeing 757-200, N689DL: Incident occurred March 31, 2022

Delta Air Lines Inc 

Performing flight DL-760



April 2 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate what went wrong when the cockpit windshield of a Delta plane shattered mid-air during a flight on Thursday to Washington, D.C., from Salt Lake City, Utah, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

The Boeing 757 made a safe emergency landing in Denver at around 11:35 a.m. on Thursday "after the crew declared an emergency due to a cracked windshield," the Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said in a statement.

A Delta spokesperson told Salt Lake City-based CBS affiliate KUTV there had been a "maintenance issue mid-flight" but did not elaborate. Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A person who said he was a passenger on the flight posted a photo of the windshield to Twitter, which showed the glass shattered into tiny fragments but still held in place.

There were 198 people on the plane, according to KUTV, which said the passengers changed planes in Denver and resumed their journey to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington.

Passenger Rachel Wright told the TV station that someone came on the loudspeaker about 90 minutes into the flight to say the windshield had shattered and they would be landing in Denver in 10 minutes.

"I was sure I had misheard them, but I hadn't," Wright said.

Drone Deliveries Have Already Started in Parts of the United States

Drone companies have been cleared to expand their operations across the United States, in cities as well as rural areas, at the same time their tech has become faster and more reliable




The Wall Street Journal 
By Christopher Mims
April 2, 2022 12:00 am ET

Delivery drones are arriving, at last.

After nearly a decade of largely unfulfilled hype about flying robots dropping orders at your doorstep, a handful of companies have started commercial operations in the U.S. involving dozens or hundreds of deliveries a day at each location. The companies are vying to be Americans’ choice when they want a bottle of Advil, a takeout meal, or the next iPhone delivered in under 30 minutes—once federal regulators enable broader rollouts.

Zipline recently started working on deliveries with Walmart at an Arkansas location, the San Francisco startup’s first commercial delivery station in the U.S. Flytrex, an Israeli startup focused on food delivery in the U.S. suburbs, just announced a new delivery station in Texas after two years of testing in North Carolina. Wing, a unit of Google parent Alphabet, has rapidly increased its deliveries in Virginia as a result of the pandemic. Amazon.com, which kicked off the drone delivery buzz in 2013, also is still working on the technology, though it has been more reticent about its progress.

While still small-scale, the operations mean that in a handful of locations, regular people, not just specially authorized beta testers, now can try these services for themselves. The companies, using different technological approaches and business models, are collectively showing that the industry has worked out many—though far from all—of the kinks that delayed the advent of drone delivery before.

“I like to compare launching a drone delivery service to getting FDA approval,” says Yariv Bash, chief executive of Flytrex. “From just mixing up some chemicals to getting to certification by the FDA is a very long process.” Similarly, making drone delivery work at a commercial scale in the U.S. requires designing and building drones, then getting them certified through the same process by which passenger aircraft are certified, he adds.

Advocates for drone delivery say the technology could reduce emissions, the cost per trip, and traffic on America’s roads, while also making sub-half-hour delivery—some companies are claiming delivery in as little as 5 minutes—the new norm in the race toward e-commerce instant gratification.

U.S. regulators worry about the things that could go wrong if the skies above America were darkened with swarms of delivery drones—such as drones crash-landing or, worse, colliding with passenger aircraft. Which is why the biggest obstacle to wider adoption of drone delivery is regulatory.

No drone delivery company in America is currently yet fully certified to fly everywhere, without a human controlling or at least monitoring the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration says it is developing regulations that would allow it to safely issue such authorization.

Backyard drone strikes

Operating for years overseas, Zipline has logged 20 million miles of flights across 275,000 commercial deliveries, mostly of blood, vaccines and medical products in Rwanda and Ghana. Late last year, it built a launch platform attached to the back of a Walmart in Pea Ridge, Ark., just outside the retail giant’s headquarters city of Bentonville. The Pea Ridge facility can serve any home in a 50-mile radius, says Keller Rinaudo, Zipline’s CEO.

Zipline operates 11-foot wide, fixed-wing drones that launch from a steel rail by an electric motor that accelerates the 44-pound aircraft to 60 miles an hour in one second. Flying autonomously, the drones drop orders at their assigned addresses in cardboard boxes suspended beneath paper parachutes. Upon return to the launch station, they maneuver so that a centimeter-wide hook on their tails catches a line suspended at the end of a long, carbon-fiber arm—akin to the tailhook systems that halt Navy jets landing on aircraft carriers.

One objection to drone delivery has arisen over the noise of a typical multi-rotor drone coming in for a delivery. Zipline’s drones are much quieter. “There is no noise level, none,” says Pea Ridge Mayor Jackie Crabtree.




Zipline has improved its drones so that they can hit a target as small as two parking spaces, says Mr. Rinaudo. Each delivery can be up to 4 pounds.

Like its rivals, Zipline can operate its service only because it has permission from the FAA. That authorization comes after a lengthy certification process, or else by being granted an exception to existing rules. In either case, the FAA must approve each new drone delivery project individually. While Zipline’s drones fly themselves, current FAA regulations require a human to monitor each drone’s entire flight, either remotely or by keeping it in sight. A company spokesman says Zipline is working toward certifications that will allow its drones to operate beyond visual line of sight.

People in the industry say that as early tests have shown that new drone designs specific to delivery have proved safe, the FAA has lately been moving more quickly to issue permissions for even bigger rollouts.

Flytrex focuses on takeout

Flytrex has been testing its drones abroad, and, since spring of 2020, making deliveries from a Walmart store in North Carolina, where it has delivered more than 18,000 items and can serve up to 10,000 homes, says a Flytrex spokesman. Its new delivery station in Granbury, Texas, near Fort Worth, is offering delivery in partnership with Brinker International, owner of the Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant chains.




Granbury, a town of about 10,000, surrounds a big lake, making it hard for delivery drivers to get around quickly, says Brinker’s head of innovation, Wade Allen. Using drones there has cut many delivery times in half, and is significantly cheaper than partnering with a ground-based food delivery service, he says.

Flytrex’s drone looks like a large version of the ones used by hobbyists and filmmakers, and carries up to 6 pounds. Each drone delivery can accommodate up to 33 chicken wings with fries and sauce, or 27 if they are bone-in. “We might be able to squeeze in some pies and a drink as well,” says Mr. Allen.

Amazon Prime bombardment

Jeff Bezos, then Amazon’s CEO, launched highflying hype when he announced in 2013 that his company was working on delivery by drone, and promised it would arrive in four to five years.

Amazon has been secretive about testing its drone delivery systems, but said in June 2020 that it received FAA approval to conduct tests. Business publication Insider last month reported that Amazon plans a September launch for commercial tests of its drone delivery service in California and Texas, delivering items under 5 pounds. Ultimately, Amazon plans to operate 145 drone launch stations and deliver 500 million packages by drone a year, said the documents obtained by Insider.

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment on the report.




Amazon in 2019 unveiled a drone with a radical, hexagonal wing design that is by far the largest of those currently being reviewed by the FAA for delivery to households. That vehicle weighs nearly 90 pounds. The company is testing a variety of different drone styles, all of which carry onboard systems for detecting and avoiding obstacles, says a company spokesman. Amazon has pegged its hopes for sub-30 minute delivery of packages up to 5 pounds to its incipient fleet of drones, he added.

To make a delivery, Amazon’s drones fly within a few feet of the ground and drop packages, a process that seems fine for the kind of goods already packaged for the rigors of delivery by truck, but which would make a hash of something like a hot meal or coffee. Unlike its competitors, this puts Amazon’s potentially loud drone close to the ground.

Alphabet’s disposable drones

Wing has been delivering items including coffee, meals and Girl Scout cookies in Charlottesville, Va., since 2019. The company has been testing even longer in Australia, where the bulk of the 200,000 deliveries it has completed as of March 1 were made. It took Wing more than 2½ years to make its first 100,000 deliveries, and six months to make its second 100,000, says a company spokesman.




Wing has taken a “fundamentally different approach to how drones should fly” than Amazon, says Alexa Dennett, head of communications for Wing. Made of carbon fiber and injection-molded foam, its drones weigh just 10 pounds, the lightest among the companies seeking FAA approval for delivery.

Wing’s drones have the electronics that the FAA mandates for all commercial drones and new aircraft to enable mutual detection, and they are designed to be fragile enough that a crash or collision would do little or no harm to anything they hit, says Ms. Dennett.

Wing is also changing its strategy. In Virginia, it delivers goods from a central hub, the same one used in 2019 for the first commercial drone delivery in U.S. history. (That drone is now in the collection of the Smithsonian.) In Frisco and Little Elm, Texas, bedroom communities of Dallas, Wing will soon launch a service that delivers directly from a Walgreens pharmacy. The idea is that Wing’s drone delivery system should occupy no more than a few spaces in a retailer’s parking lot, from which a half-dozen drones can take off and land vertically.

To start a delivery, a drone hovers above a Walgreens staffer, and lowers a hook to which an aerodynamic cardboard package containing a customer’s order—up to 3.3 pounds—is attached. The drones fly autonomously, and can charge themselves when they return.

Some people ask whether anyone has ever shot at a delivery drone. In thousands of Flytrex flights, this has never happened, says Mr. Allen of Brinkers. They are hard to detect when in flight, and shooting at an aircraft, even a drone, is a felony, he adds. Birds also have left the drones alone.

Advanced air-traffic control

For all of these drone delivery businesses to scale up from limited commercial tests to a nationwide phenomenon—picture Amazon Prime’s nearly 150 million U.S. members being able to tick a box and pay a few extra bucks for drone delivery—companies are going to need permission to operate their drones completely autonomously, with little or no human oversight.

In February, the FAA announced that it would begin field tests this spring of an air-traffic control system just for unmanned aircraft that stay below 400 feet, says an FAA spokeswoman. The FAA has already laid out its plans for safely enabling fully autonomous drone delivery across the U.S., she adds.

Amazon and Wing have both developed their own software systems for drones to autonomously plan flight routes, avoid collisions, and steer clear of areas around airports and tall buildings.




For the FAA to create standards for how such autonomous flight operation systems work, they must first be developed by a consortium of drone companies and traditional aerospace firms and then tested in the real world. The time-consuming nature of this approach to making drone delivery a reality is one reason it has been so long in coming, says Flytrex CEO Yariv Bash.

Another challenge to making drone delivery work is that the drones must meet the same FAA safety standards as passenger aircraft. And companies must overcome hurdles inherent to operating an aerial-logistics service on a mass scale—including inventory and fulfillment, user interfaces, and fleet management—all at a price that is attractive and eventually profitable.

“Everybody tends to focus on the drone itself because that’s the sexy thing you can latch onto,” says Mr. Rinaudo. “But the drone is only 15% of the complexity of what we do.”

While challenges remain, companies say they are encouraged by a positive feedback loop between expanded testing and the FAA’s evolving regulation: The more flights that companies are allowed to make, the more chances they have to demonstrate that they can successfully make deliveries without incident, and the more trust there is with regulators.

“It’s a very different mind-set with the FAA than it was a year ago,” says Mr. Bash of Flytrex, which is planning additional delivery stations in Texas. “Their approach has always been, crawl, walk, run—hopefully we are now getting to the walk part.”

Piper PA-28-181 Archer TX, N28065: Incident occurred March 27, 2022 at Falcon Field Airport (KFFZ), Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Scottsdale, Arizona

Aircraft nose gear collapsed on landing. 

CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc


Date: 27-MAR-22
Time: 18:30:00Z
Regis#: N28065
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA28
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: FAR 141 PILOT SCHOOL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
Aircraft Operator: OXFORD AVIATION ACADEMY
Flight Number: OXF7049
City: MESA
State: ARIZONA

Piper PA-28R-200, N3761F: Incident occurred March 27, 2022 at Modesto City–County Airport (KMOD), Stanislaus County, California

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Fresno, California

Aircraft landed gear up. 


Date: 27-MAR-22
Time: 22:02:00Z
Regis#: N3761F
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA28R
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: INSTRUCTION
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MODESTO
State: CALIFORNIA

Piper PA-28R-200, N4546X: Incident occurred March 25, 2022 at Rio Vista Municipal Airport (O88), Solano County, California

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Fresno, California

Aircraft landed gear up. 


Date: 25-MAR-22
Time: 22:58:00Z
Regis#: N4546X
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA28R
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: RIO VISTA
State: CALIFORNIA

Cessna 172R Skyhawk, N57FA: Incident occurred March 25, 2022 at Miami Executive Airport (KTMB), Miami-Dade County, Florida

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida

Aircraft landed and gear collapsed. 

Silver Express Company doing business as Flying Academy 


Date: 25-MAR-22
Time: 16:40:00Z
Regis#: N57FA
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 172R
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MIAMI
State: FLORIDA

Wrong Airport / Wrong Surface: Rans S-7 Courier, N242K; accident occurred February 19, 2022 in Buckeye, Maricopa County, Arizona













Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Scottsdale, Arizona

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket


Location: Buckeye, Arizona
Accident Number: WPR22LA105
Date and Time: February 19, 2022, 10:00 Local
Registration: N242K
Aircraft: SHELTON JOSEPH G S-7 
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Wrong surface or wrong airport
Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Analysis

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped experimental airplane reported that, he mistook a parking lot for what he thought was an ultralight/light sport runway. While on final approach he observed power lines that obstructed the approach. He pulled up to avoid the power lines; however, he did not add engine power and the airplane stalled, landed hard and veered to the right where it struck a water drum and came to rest inverted.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Probable Cause and Findings

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while on final approach to land which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and hard landing.

Findings

Aircraft Pitch control - Not attained/maintained
Aircraft Angle of attack - Not attained/maintained
Personnel issues Aircraft control - Pilot

Factual Information

History of Flight

Approach Wrong surface or wrong airport (Defining event)
Maneuvering-low-alt flying Aerodynamic stall/spin
Maneuvering-low-alt flying Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)

Pilot Information

Certificate: Private 
Age: 76, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine land
Seat Occupied: Front
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: 4-point
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed:
Medical Certification: Class 3 Without waivers/limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: June 21, 2021
Occupational Pilot: No 
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: July 28, 2021
Flight Time: (Estimated) 2000 hours (Total, all aircraft), 900 hours (Total, this make and model), 1937 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft)

Passenger Information

Certificate: 
Age: 74, Male
Airplane Rating(s): 
Seat Occupied: Rear
Other Aircraft Rating(s): 
Restraint Used: 4-point
Instrument Rating(s): 
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): 
Toxicology Performed:
Medical Certification: 
Last FAA Medical Exam:
Occupational Pilot: UNK 
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time:

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: SHELTON JOSEPH G 
Registration: N242K
Model/Series: S-7 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 2001 
Amateur Built: Yes
Airworthiness Certificate: Experimental (Special)
Serial Number: 0101298
Landing Gear Type: Tailwheel
Seats: 2
Date/Type of Last Inspection: Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 1200 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection: 3 Hrs
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 895 Hrs as of last inspection 
Engine Manufacturer: Rotax
ELT: Installed, activated, did not aid in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: 912ULS
Registered Owner: 
Rated Power: 100 Horsepower
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual (VMC)
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KBXK, 1021 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 09:55 Local 
Direction from Accident Site: 244°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear 
Visibility 10 miles
Lowest Ceiling: None 
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 8 knots / 
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: None / None
Wind Direction: 110° 
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: N/A / N/A
Altimeter Setting: 30.16 inches Hg 
Temperature/Dew Point: 17°C / -5°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Kingman, AZ (IGM)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Buckeye, AZ
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 09:00 Local
Type of Airspace: Class G

Airport Information

Airport: Buckeye Municipal Airport BXK
Runway Surface Type:
Airport Elevation: 1033 ft msl 
Runway Surface Condition: Dry
Runway Used: 
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width:
VFR Approach/Landing: Full stop; Straight-in

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None 
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries:
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 None 
Latitude, Longitude: 33.418859,-112.67848(est)



Location: Buckeye, Arizona
Accident Number: WPR22LA105
Date and Time: February 19, 2022, 11:00 Local 
Registration: N242K
Aircraft: SHELTON JOSEPH G S-7 
Injuries: 2 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: SHELTON JOSEPH G
Registration: N242K
Model/Series: S-7 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: On file 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC 
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KBXK,1021 ft msl
Observation Time: 10:55 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical Miles 
Temperature/Dew Point: 19°C /-4°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 10 knots / , 110°
Lowest Ceiling: None 
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.15 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: 
Destination:

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Minor 
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Minor
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries:
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Minor 
Latitude, Longitude: 33.418859,-112.67848 (est)

Accident occurred April 02, 2022 in Columbia County, Florida

Columbia County Sheriff's Office -

This morning, deputies responded to the area of SR47 and Sedgefield Lane in reference to a helicopter crash. Upon arrival, they located a helicopter which had crashed near the roadway. They rendered aid to the 2 occupants who had minor injuries. The information was forwarded to the FAA who will be conducting an investigation into the cause of the crash. We are thankful both occupants of the helicopter only sustained minor injuries and no one else was injured.





COLUMBIA CITY, Florida — A helicopter crash Saturday morning in southern Columbia County led to just minor injuries.

Late Saturday morning, deputies from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office responded to Sedgefield Lane and State Road 47 to reports of a helicopter crash, which crashed alongside the roadway.

The two occupants onboard the rotorcraft suffered minor injuries and walked away from the crash.

Steven Khachigan, a spokesman for the CCSO, said he didn’t know if those onboard were from Columbia County or not. He said, though, a family member of the pilot was expected to retrieve the rotorcraft from the crash site.

Khachigan also said deputies didn’t know what caused the crash.

“That’s not really our area of expertise,” he said about helicopter crashes.

The Sheriff’s Office has reported the crash to the Federal Aviation Administration, which will investigate the incident.

Air Tractor AT-401, N9192E: Accident occurred March 26, 2022 in Rayville, Richland Parish, Louisiana

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. 

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Collinston Air Service Inc


Location: Rayville, Louisiana 
Accident Number: CEN22LA157
Date and Time: March 26, 2022, 16:14 Local 
Registration: N9192E
Aircraft: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-401 
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 137: Agricultural

On March 26, 2022, about 1614 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-401, N9192E, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Rayville, Louisiana. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight.

The pilot reported that he was making the final agricultural spray passes on a field when the airplane engine began to “spit and sputter, and miss”. He exited the field and climbed over trees and power transmission lines when the engine again started running abnormally. He examined the area for a safe place to land and the engine stopped producing power. He noted that the engine re-started and stopped two or three times as he maneuvered for a subsequent landing. After touching down in a field, the airplane went over an embankment alongside a water filled ditch. After it touched down on the opposite side of the ditch, the right wing struck an irrigation unit, the airplane turned sideways, and then nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to both wings.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: AIR TRACTOR INC
Registration: N9192E
Model/Series: AT-401 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Agricultural aircraft (137) 
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KMLU,73 ft msl 
Observation Time: 15:53 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 16 Nautical Miles 
Temperature/Dew Point: 22°C /3°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 7 knots / , 120°
Lowest Ceiling: None 
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.07 inches Hg 
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Oak Ridge, LA (PVT)
Destination: Rayville, LA

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries:
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious 
Latitude, Longitude: 32.519802,-91.704144

Aircraft experienced engine issues and crashed in a field impacting a water pump. 

Date: 26-MAR-22
Time: 21:14:00Z
Regis#: N9192E
Aircraft Make: AIR TRACTOR
Aircraft Model: AT401
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: MINOR
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: AERIAL APPLICATION
Flight Phase: MANEUVERING (MNV)
Operation: 137
City: RAYVILLE
State: LOUISIANA

Learjet 75, N877W: Accident occurred April 02, 2022 at Morristown Municipal Airport (KMMU), Morris County, New Jersey

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. 

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Teterboro, New Jersey
Bombardier; Dorval, Quebec
Honeywell; Phoenix, Arizona

Georgia Crown Distributing Company


Location: Morristown, New Jersey
Accident Number: ERA22LA175
Date and Time: April 2, 2022, 11:19 Local 
Registration: N877W
Aircraft: LEARJET INC 45
Injuries: 4 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On April 2, 2022, at 1119 eastern daylight time, a Learjet Inc 45, N877W, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU), Morristown, New Jersey. The airline transport pilots and the two passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

Each crewmember provided written statements, and their statements were consistent throughout. According to the captain in the left seat, the airplane was established on a visual approach for landing on runway 23. The reported wind was from 340° at 3 knots gusting to 16 knots. The quartering tailwind was computed “within limits,” the thrust reversers were deployed at touchdown, and the airplane turned “sharply to the right.” According to the captain, “It felt unusual. Normal crosswind correction inputs made no difference, extreme inputs were made, and still no control was possible.” The airplane departed the right side of the runway, and the entire wing structure separated from the main fuselage, which continued for about 100 ft before coming to rest upright. The crew shut down the airplane and exited the main cabin door along with one passenger, while the second passenger egressed the airplane by the emergency exit.

Examination of track data and airport surveillance video revealed a nominal approach profile and that the airplane crossed the runway threshold about 120 knots groundspeed. About 9 seconds into the landing roll, the airplane turned sharply to its right. The airplane departed the runway, its left wingtip struck the ground, the entire wing structure (left wing/right wing/wingbox) separated from the airplane as one assembly, and the fuselage continued a short distance before it came to rest upright. The thrust reversers on each engine were deployed, and their positions were approximately matched.

The windsock in the foreground of the video was nearly parallel to the ground and pointed about 90° toward the runway and the airplane’s right side.

The accident site was photographed, and a cursory examination of the airplane was completed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector. Examination of photographs revealed skid marks on the runway traced back along the paved surface from the ground scars that marked the airplane’s runway excursion. The skid marks appeared about 1,200 feet beyond the approach end of runway 23 and arced to the airplane’s right about 560 ft before the skid marks transitioned to tracks in the grass apron. The tracks continued an estimated 100 ft farther down the landing direction and about 90 ft right of the paved surface to where the main wing assembly came to rest. The fuselage rested upright, about 120 feet beyond the point the airplane departed the paved surface, and 110 ft right of the paved surface.

The captain held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single and multiengine land. He was issued a second-class medical certificate March 30, 2022. The captain reported 8,834 total hours of flight experience of which 1,599 were in the accident airplane make and model. The first officer held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single and multiengine land. He was issued a second-class medical certificate April 5, 2021. The first officer reported 9,582 total hours of flight experience of which 5,146 were in the accident airplane make and model.

The airplane was manufactured in 2014. The most recent inspection in its continuous airworthiness program was completed November 15, 2021, at 3,074.4 total aircraft hours.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was retained and forwarded to the NTSB Recorders Laboratory in Washington, DC. The wreckage was recovered for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: LEARJET INC
Registration: N877W
Model/Series: 45 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC 
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: MMU,187 ft msl 
Observation Time: 11:25 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 7°C /-5°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 25000 ft AGL 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 6 knots / 14 knots, 320°
Lowest Ceiling: None 
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.11 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: IFR
Departure Point: Atlanta, GA (FTY)
Destination: Morristown, NJ

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 2 Minor
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 2 Minor
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 4 Minor 
Latitude, Longitude: 40.799338,-74.414889

Aircraft landed, veered off runway and right wing struck the grass.

Date: 02-APR-22
Time: 15:19:00Z
Regis#: N877W
Aircraft Make: LEARJET
Aircraft Model: 45
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MORRISTOWN
State: NEW JERSEY




N877W
Bombardier Learjet 45
Crashed during landing at KMMU around 1520Z
Airport closed by NOTAM
Per ATC audio and early reporting no immediately apparent injuries.
Also, LiveATC.net audio 1500-1530Z KMMU Tower #1




A Learjet 75 from Georgia left the runway upon landing at Morristown Municipal Airport on Saturday morning.

All four persons onboard egressed safely, with no reported injuries, said Morristown Police Capt. Stuart Greer.

Firefighters and police from the town responded to the 11:20 a.m. incident, which shut down the airport.

The plane, which was flying from Fulton County Executive Airport near Atlanta, sustained “significant damage” as it left runway 23, coming to rest in a runway safety area, Greer said in a statement.

The wings separated from the aircraft, confirmed Corey Hanlon, a spokesman for Morristown Airport.  He said the plane was a Learjet 75.  The airport was likely to remain closed into Saturday evening, he said.

Greer said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating what the airport  classified as a “Category B runway incident.” The Federal Aviation Administration describes a “Category B runway incursion” as an incident where “there is a significant potential for collision,” requiring quick action.

Morristown Green has reached out to the NTSB for comment and will update this story as more information becomes available.