A passenger aboard a Bombardier Challenger 300 business jet was killed after the aircraft encountered severe turbulence shortly after departing Keene, New Hampshire. The flight was en route to Leesburg, Virginia, but diverted to Windsor Locks Bradley International Airport. The NTSB is investigating.
The NTSB issued their preliminary report on the accident on 24 March.
The flight departed Keen about 20:34 UTC on 3 March. The aircraft was climbing through 22,500 feet when it experienced a sudden increase in its vertical rate and concurrent loss of ground speed at approximately 20:44:10. Ground speed continued to decrease through 20:45:32, with the aircraft reaching a maximum altitude of 25,850 feet. The aircraft then began its descent and diversion to Windsor Locks (BDL), landing at 21:00:49.
Data for download
Data available for download included the high frequency data on which the above graph is based. Included are position, altitude, speed, track, and vertical rate data.
Aircraft information
N300ER is a Bombardier BD-100-1A10 Challenger 300 owned by Conexon LLC. Conexon is a consultancy that works to bring high speed internet to rural communities.
NTSB issues preliminary report
The NTSB issued its preliminary report on 24 March. Initially, this accident was reported in the press as an incidence of severe turbulence. However, the report notes, “the flight crew reported that they did not experience any remarkable turbulence during the flight, nor during the time immediately surrounding the in-flight upset event.”
The report focuses on multiple faults and the actions of the crew to mitigate those faults. During the aircraft’s climb, the pilots received multiple EICAS caution messages, including AP STAB TRIM FAIL, which indicates autopilot stabilizer trim failure. The crew then completed the recommended checklist, which in part included moving the stabilizer trim switch from PRI (primary) to OFF.
The NTSB notes that as soon as the switch was moved to off, the airplane pitched up. Flight Data Recorder data indicates the aircraft pitched up to 11° with a vertical acceleration of +3.8g. That was followed by negative vertical acceleration of -2.3g. The airplane pitched up once again to 20° with +4.2g vertical acceleration.
