Hawker Siddeley HS-125-700A N45BP

Summary

On 20 September 2003 at about 23:54 local time, a Hawker Siddeley HS-125-700A registered N45BP was involved in an accident near Beaumont, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 September 2003 at 23:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Beaumont, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.1117, -94.2522

Aircraft

Hawker Siddeley HS-125-700A

Registration

N45BP

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Beaumont

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN03FA155

3 people died.

the first pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and adequate airspeed. Contributing factors included performing intentional stalls at too low an altitude to afford a safe recovery, the pilot's failure to add power in an attempt to recover, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The purpose of the flight was for the instructor-pilot to prepare the first and second pilots for their FAA Part 135 competency and proficiency checks scheduled to be conducted in the accident airplane the following week, with operator proving tests to follow shortly thereafter. The first pilot obtained a computer science corporation (CSC) direct user access terminal service (DUATS) weather briefing and filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The instructor-pilot was listed as the pilot-in-command. The airplane took off and proceeded to its designated practice area. According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the pilots practiced various maneuvers under the direction of the instructor-pilot, including steep turns and approaches to stalls. Then the first pilot was asked the to demonstrate an approach-to-landing stall. The first pilot asked the instructor-pilot if he had "ever done stalls in the airplane?" The instructor-pilot replied, "It's been awhile." The first pilot remarked, "This is the first time I've probably done stalls in a jet. Nah, I take that back, I've done them in a (Lear)." The instructor-pilot said he had stalled "the JetStar on a [FAR] one thirty five ride." Flaps were extended and the landing gear was lowered. Digital electronic engine control (DEEC) recorded a power reduction that remained at idle. According to national track analysis program (NTAP) data, the stall was initiated from an altitude of 5,000 feet. The stick shaker sounded and shortly thereafter, the recording ended. The consensus of 25 witness' observations was that the airplane was flying at low altitude and doing "erratic maneuvers." One witness said it "seemed to stop in midair," then pitched nose down. Some witnesses said that the airplane was spinning. Other witnesses said it was in a flat spin. Still another witness said the airplane fell "like a falling leaf." The airplane impacted marshy terrain in a nose-down, wings-level attitude. Wreckage examination revealed the landing gear was down and the flaps were set to 25 degrees. Both engines' compressor/turbine section blades were gouged and bent in the opposite direction of rotation, and there were rotational scoring marks on both cases. No discrepancies were noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.