
Détails:
A Learjet 35A, N14TX, was destroyed when it impacted terrain at the Stephenville Airport, Canada. Both crew members were killed. The accident occurred in the hours of darkness with wind 040 degrees at 17 knots, a visibility of 12 miles in light snow and drifting snow.
The crew conducted a tailwind ILS approach to runway 28 because runway 10 lacked an ILS. The airplane tracked the ILS until over the threshold. When the aircraft approached the runway threshold, its landing lights would have illuminated the drifting snow and the snow covering much of the runway surface, probably making it difficult to distinguish the runway's white centre line and, perhaps, the runway edge lights. The illuminated snow drifting across the runway at a 45° angle from behind the aircraft would give a pilot the illusion of lateral aircraft motion. The aircraft drifted to the left and touched down off the left side of the runway.
Heading left off the runway, in the dark and with a lack of ground lights in that direction, the pilot had a limited horizon comprised of the snow surface illuminated by the aircraft's landing lights, which would have made recognition of the aircraft's attitude extremely difficult. A go around was initiated with being retracted. The aircraft then attained various bank angles of wings level, 10° left, 45° left, and 10° left with the left hand wingtip contacting the ground, until the ailerons jammed. The aircraft rolled to the right after striking the ground, then went through a small stand of alders at 4,400 feet. The aircraft continued to roll to the right and crashed in an inverted, wings-level attitude 5,080 feet from the runway threshold near the centre of the airport, just east of the intersection of runways 28 and 20.
CAUSES ET FACTEURS CONTRIBUTIFS: "Peu après avoir survolé le seuil, l'avion a commencé à dériver à gauche de la piste. Le pilote ne s'est probablement pas rendu compte du mouvement jusqu'à ce que l'avion touche le sol au-delà du bord gauche de la piste. Le pilote n'a pas gardé une bonne assiette pendant la tentative de remise des gaz, et l'avion a percuté le sol."
| Statuts: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | vendredi 6 décembre 1996 |
| Heure: | 02:38 |
| Type/Sous-type: |  Learjet 36A |
| Compagnie: | Chrysler Aviation |
| Immatriculation: | N14TX |
| Numéro de série: | 36-033 |
| Année de Fabrication: | 1977 |
| Moteurs: | 2 Garrett TFE731-2-2B |
| Equipage: | victimes: 2 / Ã bord: 2 |
| Passagers: | victimes: 0 / Ã bord: 0 |
| Total: | victimes: 2 / Ã bord: 2 |
| Dégats de l'appareil: | Perte Totale |
| Conséquences: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Lieu de l'accident: | 0,5 km (0.3 milles) S of Stephenville Airport, NL (YJT) ( Canada)
|
| Phase de vol: | A l'atterrissage (LDG) |
| Nature: | Inconnu |
| Aéroport de départ: | Grand Rapids-Kent County International Airport, MI (GRR/KGRR), Etats-Unis d'Amérique |
| Stephenville Airport, NL (YJT/CYJT), Canada |
A Learjet 35A, N14TX, was destroyed when it impacted terrain at the Stephenville Airport, Canada. Both crew members were killed. The accident occurred in the hours of darkness with wind 040 degrees at 17 knots, a visibility of 12 miles in light snow and drifting snow.
The crew conducted a tailwind ILS approach to runway 28 because runway 10 lacked an ILS. The airplane tracked the ILS until over the threshold. When the aircraft approached the runway threshold, its landing lights would have illuminated the drifting snow and the snow covering much of the runway surface, probably making it difficult to distinguish the runway's white centre line and, perhaps, the runway edge lights. The illuminated snow drifting across the runway at a 45° angle from behind the aircraft would give a pilot the illusion of lateral aircraft motion. The aircraft drifted to the left and touched down off the left side of the runway.
Heading left off the runway, in the dark and with a lack of ground lights in that direction, the pilot had a limited horizon comprised of the snow surface illuminated by the aircraft's landing lights, which would have made recognition of the aircraft's attitude extremely difficult. A go around was initiated with being retracted. The aircraft then attained various bank angles of wings level, 10° left, 45° left, and 10° left with the left hand wingtip contacting the ground, until the ailerons jammed. The aircraft rolled to the right after striking the ground, then went through a small stand of alders at 4,400 feet. The aircraft continued to roll to the right and crashed in an inverted, wings-level attitude 5,080 feet from the runway threshold near the centre of the airport, just east of the intersection of runways 28 and 20.
Probable Cause:
CAUSES ET FACTEURS CONTRIBUTIFS: "Peu après avoir survolé le seuil, l'avion a commencé à dériver à gauche de la piste. Le pilote ne s'est probablement pas rendu compte du mouvement jusqu'à ce que l'avion touche le sol au-delà du bord gauche de la piste. Le pilote n'a pas gardé une bonne assiette pendant la tentative de remise des gaz, et l'avion a percuté le sol."
Accident investigation:

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Sources:
» TSB Report Number A96A0207Photos
Plan
Ce plan montre l'aéroport de départ ainsi que la supposée destination du vol. La ligne fixe reliant les deux aéroports n'est pas le plan de vol exact.
La distance entre Grand Rapids-Kent County International Airport, MI et Stephenville Airport, NL est de 2159 km (1349 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
La distance entre Grand Rapids-Kent County International Airport, MI et Stephenville Airport, NL est de 2159 km (1349 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
Les informations ci-dessus ne représentent pas l'opinion de la 'Flight Safety Foundation' ou de 'Aviation Safety Network' sur les causes de l'accident. Ces informations prélimimaires sont basées sur les faits tel qu'ils sont connus à ce jour.
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