Safety

The US National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators to two business jet accidents in the USA this week, one involving an Eclipse 500 in Pennsylvania on 30 July, the other a fatal accident involving a Hawker 800 in southern Minnesota on 31 July.

In the 30 July accident, an Eclipse 500  overran the runway at Brandywine airport in West Chester, Pennsylvania, after a flight from nearby Wings Field. The aircraft was substantially damaged after sliding down a 12m (40ft) embankment and into trees at 18:30 local time. No one was injured. NTSB investigators found 670m (2,200ft) of skid marks along the runway and did not initially discover any pre-impact aiframe, mechanical, engine control or braking malfunctions. Eclipse earlier this year alerted pilots to problems with blown tires caused by landing too fast and locking the brakes in an attempt to slow down. The Eclipse does not have an anti-skid system built into the brakes. 

© Eclipse

The incident marks the first reported case of substantial damage to an Eclipse 500 since aircraft deliveries began in early 2007. N333MY was certificated in February.

The fatal Minnesota accident occurred at 10:00 local time on 31 July, killing at least seven, according to an NTSB press release. N818MV, a chartered 1990 Hawker 800A owned by MVA Aircraft Leasing and operated by East Coast Jets, according to FAA records, was carrying as many as 10 employees of a glass manufacturing company, local press report. The twinjet crashed into a corn field while on approach to Owatonna Degneer Regional airport after a trip from Atlantic City, New Jersey.