A Cessna 550 Citation II that was destroyed in a fatal accident last month failed to gain more than 10ft of altitude before striking power lines and a restaurant near a Texas airfield.
A preliminary investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), released on 6 September, reveals details of the 20 August accident that killed the pilot and one passenger, and left another person “seriously injured” from a structure fire on the ground.
The twinjet, registered as N689VP, took off from Odessa Airport-Schlemeyer Field at about 07:00 local time for a personal flight. The morning offered clear visibility and a breeze of about 7kt (13km/h).
A witness told investigators that the business jet’s Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D turbofan engines sounded “unusual” upon take-off. He stepped outside to watch the Cessna flying down the final third of the 1,524m (5,000ft) runway, ”about 10ft above ground level in a near-level attitude”, the NTSB says.
“The airplane then collided with powerlines and a [one-storey] restaurant building”, the agency adds. “The right main landing gear was sheared and was entangled in the building’s roof. The aircraft came to rest about 150 yards [137m] south and impacted two garage areas.”
Most of the aircraft was consumed by the ensuing fire, which ignited surrounding brush and two structures but was contained by firefighters.
Remnants of the aircraft’s primary flight controls were recovered, and a cockpit-voice recorder was secured from the wreckage.
The NTSB is still reviewing the evidence, including what remains of the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the accident.
