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| Title: | Uncontrolled flight into terrain for undetermined reasons, Learjet 24B, N600XJ, Helendale, California, December 23, 2003 |
| Micro summary: | This Learjet 24B crashed into terrain. |
| Event Time: | 2003-12-23 at 0913 PST |
| File Name: | 2003-12-23-US.pdf |
| Publishing Agency: | National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) |
| Publishing Country: | USA |
| Report number: | LAX04FA075 |
| Pages: | 12 |
| Site of event: | Near Helendale, California |
| Departure: | Chino Airport, Chino, California, USA |
| Destination: | Friedman Memorial Airport, Hailey, Idaho |
| Airplane Type(s): | Learjet 24B |
| Flight Phase: | Climb |
| Registration(s): | N600XJ |
| Operator(s): | Pavair, Inc. |
| Type of flight: | Corporate |
| Occupants: | 2 |
| Fatalities: | 2 |
| Serious Injuries: | 0 |
| Minor/Non-Injured: | 0 |
| Other Injuries: | 0 |
| Executive Summary: | About 0913, a Learjet 24B, N600XJ, registered to and operated by Pavair, Inc., departed controlled flight, entered a near-vertical descent, and crashed into high desert terrain near Helendale, California. Review of ATC communications and airplane radar data revealed that the flight crew requested a return to the departure airport about 12 minutes after takeoff as the flight was climbing through 26,000 feet. The controller asked the pilots if they were declaring an emergency, and the first officer replied that they were not. During this transmission, the first officer’s voice sounded similar to the voice he used during his transmissions earlier in the flight, indicating that he was not under any increased stress at that time. The flight crew was instructed to descend to and maintain 24,000 feet. As the controller was issuing additional route clearance information, he asked the flight crew to confirm that the airplane was level at 24,000 feet. At that time, the radar data showed that the airplane had descended through 23,000 feet. About 15 seconds later, the first officer declared an emergency. The first officer’s voice sounded agitated and highly distressed during this transmission compared with his earlier transmissions. Transcripts of recorded air-to-ground communications showed that about 2.5 minutes had elapsed from the flight crew’s request to return to the departure airport and the declaration of the emergency. A review of the radar data showed that the flight had a normal descent rate from 26,000 to 24,000 feet (less than 2,000 fpm [feet per minute]). The descent rate then rapidly increased to 6,500 fpm and then to 10,000 fpm. Integration of the communications times and the radar data revealed that the first officer’s declaration of an emergency occurred about the time of the increase in the descent rate to 10,000 fpm. A witness on the ground saw the airplane in level flight before it pitched nose down slightly, returned to level flight, and then pitched nose down in a near-vertical descent. He stated that the airplane remained in a nose-down attitude until it impacted terrain and exploded. The witness added that he did not observe any components separate from the airplane or any smoke or fire before the airplane impacted terrain. All airplane system components were destroyed and thus could not be examined. All primary and secondary flight control surfaces were identified; however, impact damage precluded any determination of preimpact control system continuity. The horizontal stabilizer was trimmed for 285 knots calibrated airspeed. No useful remnants remained from the cockpit instrument panel. No evidence of an in-flight fire was found. Impact damage precluded a determination of whether the engines were operating at impact. An aircraft performance study for this accident revealed that the accident airplane did not approach its maximum operating airspeeds until after the pilots initiated the descent and declared an emergency. No unusual or hazardous meteorological phenomena were near the airplane at the time of the loss of control. PROBABLE CAUSE The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a loss of airplane control for undetermined reasons. |
| Learning Keywords: | Operations - Uncontrolled Flight into Terrain |
| Consequence - Hull Loss |
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