Israel 1124A N309CK

Summary

On 16 December 1993 at about 01:33 local time, a Israel 1124A registered N309CK, operated by Martin Aviation, was involved in an accident near Santa Ana, California, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 December 1993 at 01:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Ana, California, United States

Nearest airport

John Wayne (SNA)

Coordinates

33.7604, -117.7891

Aircraft

Israel 1124A

Registration

N309CK

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Martin Aviation

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

La Verne → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

LAX94FA073

5 people died.

THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE SEPARATION BEHIND THE BOEING 757 AND/OR REMAIN ABOVE ITS FLIGHT PATH DURING THE APPROACH, WHICH RESULTED IN AN ENCOUNTER WITH WAKE VORTICES FROM THE 757. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: AN INADEQUACY IN THE ATC PROCEDURE RELATED TO VISUAL APPROACHES AND VFR OPERATIONS BEHIND HEAVIER AIRPLANES, AND THE RESULTANT LACK OF INFORMATION TO THE WESTWIND PILOTS FOR THEM TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE FLIGHT PATH OF THEIR AIRPLANE WITH RESPECT TO THE BOEING 757'S FLIGHT PATH.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A BEECH LINER, BOEING 757 & ISRAEL WESTWIND (WW) WERE VECTORED FOR LANDINGS ON RWY 19R. THE 757 & WW WERE SEQUENCED FOR VISUAL APCHS BEHIND THE BEECH. BEFORE BEING CLEARED FOR VISUAL APCH, THE WW WAS CLOSING 3.5 MI FROM THE 757 ON A CONVERGING COURSE. THE 757 & WW CREWS WERE TOLD TO SLOW TO 150 KTS. THE 757 SLOWED BELOW 150 KTS & WAS HIGH ON FINAL APPROACH WITH A 5.6 DEG DESCENT. THE WW CONTINUED TO CONVERGE TO ABOUT 2.1 MI BEHIND THE 757 ON A 3 DEG APCH. ATC DID NOT SPECIFICALLY ADVISE, AND WAS NOT REQUIRED BY ATC HANDBOOK TO ADVISE, THE WW PILOTS THAT THEY WERE BEHIND A BOEING 757. CAPT DISCUSSED POSSIBLE WAKE TURBULENCE, FLEW ILS 1 DOT HIGH, NOTED CLOSENESS TO THE 757 & INDICATED THERE SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM. WHILE DESCENDING THRU APRX 1100 FT MSL, THE WW ENCOUNTERED WAKE TURBULENCE FROM THE 757, ROLLED INTO A STEEP DESCENT & CRASHED. THE CREW LACKED SPECIFIC WAKE TURBULENCE TRAINING. CHLORPHENIRAMINE (COMMON OVER-THE-COUNTER ANTI-HISTAMINE; NOT APPROVED FOR FLYING) DETECTED IN PILOT'S LUNG TISSUE (0.094 UG/ML). (SEE SPCL STUDY NTSB/SIR-94/01)

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.