2001 — March 29, Avjet Corp. Gulfstream III charter approach crash, Aspen, CO–18
— 18 Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Colorado, USA.
— 18 NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief (No. DCA01MA034). Avjet Corp., Aspen, CO, Mar 29…
— 18 Planecrashinfo.com. “2001. Accident Details. Jetwingsco Inc., near Aspen, CO, Mar 29.”
Narrative Information
NTSB: “On March 29, 2001, about 1901:57 mountain standard time, a Gulfstream III, N303GA, owned by Airborne Charter, Inc., and operated by Avjet Corporation of Burbank, California, crashed while on final approach to runway 15 at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE), Aspen, Colorado.
“The charter flight had departed Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) about 1711 with 2 pilots, 1 flight attendant, and 15 passengers. The airplane crashed into sloping terrain about 2,400 feet short of the runway threshold. All of the passengers and crewmembers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed….” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief (No. DCA01MA034), p. 1.)
“The captain and first officer departed BUR at 1538 (1438 Pacific standard time) for a positioning flight to LAX, arriving there 11 minutes later. While at LAX, the captain and a charter department scheduler discussed the status of the passengers’ arrivals (none were at the airport when the airplane arrived) and the weather currently being forecast for the flight’s arrival time at ASE. Also, the captain and another Avjet captain discussed the nighttime landing restriction at ASE that required the airplane to land within 30 minutes after sunset. ASE’s nighttime airport operating hours, according to an airport chart dated November 1, 1994, indicated that aircraft that did not meet FAA stage III noise criteria were not authorized to land at the airport on March 29 after 1858.
“The airplane’s departure from LAX at 1711 (1611 Pacific standard time) was 41 minutes later than originally scheduled because of the late arrival of the passengers, including the charter customer. The flight was planned for 1 hour 35 minutes, so the estimated arrival time at ASE was 1846—12 minutes before the airport’s nighttime landing curfew….” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief (No. DCA01MA034), p. 2.)
“The airplane crashed into terrain while in a steep left bank about 2,400 feet short of the runway 15 threshold, 300 feet to the right (west) of the runway centerline….” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief (No. DCA01MA034), p. 8.)
“Charter Information:
“The business assistant of the client who chartered N303GA stated, in a postaccident interview, that his employer had chartered the airplane because he was hosting a party in Aspen. The business assistant indicated that Avjet called him about 1630 and informed him that the passengers were not at the airport and that the latest time the airplane could depart was 1655. He stated that he immediately began to track down the passengers and found out that all but two (including his employer) were in the airport parking lot. The charter department scheduler who handled N303GA on the day of the accident indicated that she told the business assistant that the flight would instead have to go to the airport at Rifle if the two passengers did not arrive shortly.
“According to the business assistant, the passengers that had arrived boarded the airplane. The business assistant indicated that one of the pilots had spoken to one or more passengers and stated that the airplane might not be able to land at ASE because of the nighttime landing curfew. The charter customer, upon learning about this conversation, instructed his business assistant to call Avjet and relay a message to the pilot that he should “keep his comments to himself.”
“The business assistant stated that, when he told his employer about the possibility that the flight might have to divert, his employer became “irate.” According to the business assistant, he was told to call Avjet and tell the company that the airplane was not going to be redirected. Specifically, he was told to say that his employer had flown into ASE at night and was going to do it again. The business assistant stated that he called Avjet to express his employer’s displeasure about the possibility of not landing in ASE.
“The charter department scheduler who handled N303GA on the day of the accident indicated that the captain stated, during an en route conversation about 1830, that it was important to land at ASE because “the customer spent a substantial amount of money on dinner.” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief (No. DCA01MA034), pp. 27-28.)
“Summary of the Flight Crew’s Performance
“During the final 2 minutes of the approach, the flight crewmembers were apparently focusing more of their attention outside, rather than inside, the cockpit as they tried to locate the runway and the highway. As a result, the captain continued flight below the authorized MDA after failing to establish or maintain visual contact with the runway. The first officer did not challenge the captain’s actions.
“In addition to their numerous errors during the instrument approach procedure, the flight crewmembers demonstrated poor crew coordination during the accident flight. Specifically, the captain and the first officer did not make required instrument approach callouts, the captain provided an incomplete approach briefing, and he did not follow Gulfstream’s procedures regarding in-flight spoiler operation and minimum engine power during an approach.
“The flight crewmembers should have abandoned the approach because the airplane descended below the MDA without an adequate visual reference of the runway. Also, the flight crew should have considered diverting to an alternate airport after receiving information about the deteriorating visibility along the approach course and the three reports of missed approaches. Operational and human factors that may have played.” (NTSB. ACB No. DCA01MA034, p. 36.)
“Probable Cause
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crew’s operation of the airplane below the minimum descent altitude without an appropriate visual reference for the runway.
“Contributing to the cause of the accident were the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) unclear wording of the March 27, 2001, Notice to Airmen regarding the nighttime restriction for the VOR/DME-C approach to the airport and the FAA’s failure to communicate this restriction to the Aspen tower; the inability of the flight crew to adequately see the mountainous terrain because of the darkness and the weather conditions; and the pressure on the captain to land from the charter customer and because of the airplane’s delayed departure and the airport’s nighttime landing restriction.” (NTSB. ACB No. DCA01MA034, p. 41.)
Planecrashinfo.com: “The aircraft was on final approach to Sardy Field when it crashed short of the runway into a hill northwest of the airport killing all aboard. The jet crashed into a small hillside 500 yards short of the runway, jumped over a culvert and crashed into another bluff exploding in flames. Wreckage was strewn over 100 yards. There was light snow and mist reported in the area at the time of the accident. The flight crew’s operation of the airplane below the minimum descent altitude without an appropriate visual reference for the runway. The crew was also under pressure to land before a landing curfew took effect.” (Planecrashinfo.com.)
Sources
Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Colorado, USA. “29MAR2001, N303GA, Grumman Gulfstream GIII, Avjet, Aspen, 18.” Accessed 11-14-2015 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Colorado.htm
National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Brief (No. DCA01MA034). Avjet Corporation, Aspen, Colorado, March 29, 2001. Washington, DC: NTSB/AAB-02/03, 2002. Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2002/AAB0203.pdf
Planecrashinfo.com. “2001. Accident Details. Jetwingsco Inc., near Aspen, CO, Mar 29.” Accessed at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/2001/2001-19.htm