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
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.


