Beechcraft 390 N50VM

Summary

On 10 December 2015 at about 23:05 local time, a Beechcraft 390 registered N50VM was involved in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois, United States. 7 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 December 2015 at 23:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Wheeling, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Chicago Executive (PWK)

Coordinates

42.1142, -87.9017

Aircraft

Beechcraft 390

Registration

N50VM

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Belmar/Farmingdale → Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

GAA16LA086

Nobody was injured.

The pilots' decision to conduct an approach and landing in gusting wind conditions, and their failure to maintain control of the airplane during the first approach, which resulted in a wing strike.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The first pilot, who was the owner of the light jet and had recently received a type rating in the airplane, was acting as pilot-in-command for the flight and was seated in the left seat. A second pilot, who was also type-rated and experienced in the airplane make and model and was accompanying the first pilot as a mentor, was seated in the right seat and handled radio communications throughout the flight. As they neared the destination airport for an approach to runway 16, the pilots received the most recent weather information, which included wind from 250 degrees at 16 knots (kts) with gusts to 29 kts. Shortly thereafter, another pilot on the frequency reported wind gusts of 50 kts upon landing. The first pilot expressed concern about landing in such windy conditions, but the second pilot encouraged him to continue. About 45 ft above the runway, the airplane experienced a strong gust of wind; the left wing impacted the ground, and the second pilot initiated a go-around.  The second pilot then reconfigured the airplane for a landing on runway 30; the aural "wind shear" warning was sounding throughout the approach. Upon touchdown, the airplane's right main landing gear exited the runway surface and impacted the raised curb between the grass and taxiway surface. Both pilots reported that there were no preaccident airplane anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The maximum demonstrated crosswind component of the airplane was 25 kts. Given the reported wind conditions about the time of the accident, the crosswind component was at least 16 to 29 kts during the first landing attempt, and may have been greater based on the pilot report of gusts. Thus, the pilots should not have attempted the landing, because the gusts had the potential to exceed the airplane's maximum demonstrated crosswind component.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.