Pilot Blog reviews the Learjet 60 N722BD crash in Florida using footage, flight path data, the ATC recording and the aircraft's anti-ice systems.
What the video covers
Written in our own words. It only describes what the video shows and says.Crash footage
Pilot Blog opens with footage of a private Learjet with nine people on board striking the ground nose first at a very steep angle. The host, who says he flew the Boeing 737 as a captain, says the fin is visible in the four frames that show the aircraft, but no horizontal stabiliser. He puts his confidence at about 90 percent, because the aircraft moves so fast that the footage may miss details. He then looks at the impact site in Palm Beach County, describing a large crater and little scattered debris, and warns viewers that the radio recording may be disturbing.
Flight data and ATC recording
The host reads out data from Aviation Safety Network and Flightradar24: a Learjet 60, registration N722BD, with Pratt & Whitney PW305A engines, flying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. After passing Naples, Florida, at FL410, the flight descended to FL350 and turned northeast. At 17:48 UTC it turned east, briefly climbed to FL354 and entered a descending right turn, with the rate of descent passing 30,000 feet per minute. He gives the impact time as 17:49 UTC. In the recording, from the VASAviation channel, the crew reports moderate turbulence, ice and an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. After reporting precipitation the crew asks for FL370 and is cleared to climb. A mayday follows soon after, with a descent of 10,000 feet per minute and then an overspeed condition at 20,000 feet per minute.
Icing and the anti-ice system
The host calls icing at minus 47 degrees at this level unusual, because in his experience the most severe icing occurs at much warmer temperatures. He explains that the engine cowlings and wing leading edges are heated by hot air from the engines, while the horizontal stabiliser has an electrically heated element. He cites a 1999 FAA airworthiness directive that also covers the Learjet 60. It followed an event in which a Learjet 55 had severe flight control buffeting, with wiring of the horizontal stabiliser anti-ice system connected incorrectly. He says openly that he is speculating: in his view icing led to the loss of control, after which high loads broke the stabiliser away. He puts that explanation at 80 to 90 percent and says the cause is for the investigation to establish.
Online reactions
The host closes by sharing a message from another aviator about comments online. It says the cause is not known, that in a two pilot aircraft the pilot on the radio is the one not flying and that remarks about the pilot's gender have no basis. The host agrees with it.
