Gulfstream Am Corp Comm Div 690D N29GA

Summary

On 2 December 2024 at about 23:35 local time, a Gulfstream Am Corp Comm Div 690D registered N29GA was involved in an accident near Spokane, Washington, United States. One person was 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

2 December 2024 at 23:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Spokane, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Felts Fld (SFF)

Coordinates

47.6829, -117.3224

Aircraft

Gulfstream Am Corp Comm Div 690D

Registration

N29GA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1983

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oak Harbor, → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA053

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine(s) power due ice ingestion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight under an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot set up for a GPS instrument approach and confirmed all deicing equipment was activated before descending into the clouds for landing. During the descent, the airplane encountered moderate rime icing. Upon exiting the cloud layer, the airplane began to descend below the glide path. The pilot advanced the engine throttles, but both engines were unresponsive. He initiated a forced landing to soft terrain short of the runway threshold, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent landing gear collapse. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane showed remnants of moderate rime icing on the right and left wing leading edges. Indications of icing remained visible on the propeller spinner, vertical and horizontal surfaces, and two top fuselage antennas. Severe icing was observed on the stall warning vane, which was likely inoperative as a result. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Control continuity of the power levers and the condition levers for both engines was established from the cockpit controls to both engines. Continuity of the stall warning vane and pitot heat was established from the cockpit switch to the heating elements. Postaccident examination and test runs of both engines revealed no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Both engines were operated at various power settings and responded to power lever inputs, including rapid power lever increases. Both engines’ anti-ice valves were activated from the control room and there was audible actuation of the anti-ice valve solenoids. A series of airmen’s meteorological information bulletins (AIRMETs) was active for the area, primarily for IFR and mountain obscuration conditions. The National Weather Service (NWS) Graphic Forecast for Aviation (GFA) flight categories chart for ceilings and visibility current at the time of the accident depicted an extensive area of Low Instrument Flight Rules (LIFR) conditions over the area due to low ceilings and freezing fog. When or if the airplane’s deicing equipment was activated could not be determined based on the available evidence. The ice accumulation visible on the airplane at the accident site suggested that the ice accumulated to such a degree that it likely caused a loss of engine power to both engines due to ice ingestion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.