Learjet 45 N988MC

Summary

On 30 November 2022 at about 01:10 local time, a Learjet 45 registered N988MC, operated by Creamer Pilot Services LLC, was involved in an accident near Batesville, Arkansas, United States. 8 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 November 2022 at 01:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Batesville, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Batesville Regional Airport (BVX)

Coordinates

35.7262, -91.6474

Aircraft

Learjet 45

Registration

N988MC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

2

Operator

Creamer Pilot Services LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waterloo → Batesville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN23LA056

2 people had minor injuries.

The crew’s failure to execute a go-around during the unstable approach and long landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The two pilots were conducting a business flight with six passengers when the accident occurred. During the night arrival the captain flew a visual approach with excessive airspeed and the airplane crossed the runway threshold more than 50 knots above approach speed (Vref). The before-landing checklist was not completed, and the flaps were at an incorrect 20° position instead of 40°. The airplane touched down near the midfield point of the 6,022 ft non-grooved runway, which was wet due to earlier precipitation. The captain initially applied intermittent braking, then applied continuous braking starting about 2,069 ft from the end of the runway. The captain did not deploy the thrust reversers. The airplane exited the runway above 100 knots groundspeed, then continued into a ditch and airport perimeter fence, which resulted in substantial damage to the forward fuselage. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The operator’s flight manual directed that all approaches were to be flown using the stabilized approach concept. For a visual approach, this included establishing and maintaining the proper approach speed and correct landing configuration at least 500 ft above the airport elevation. Neither pilot recognized the requirement to execute a go-around due to the excessive approach speed or the long landing on a wet runway, which resulted in the runway excursion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.