1996 New Hampshire Learjet crash

Infobox Aircraft accident
date = 1996-12-24
type = Controlled flight into terrain
site = Dorchester, New Hampshire
coords = coord |43|49.56|N|72|00.75|W|region:US-NH_type:landmark|display=inline,title
aircraft_type = Learjet 35A
operator = Aircraft Charter Group, Inc.
tail_number = N388LS
origin = Bridgeport, Connecticut
destination = Lebanon, New Hampshire
passengers = 0
crew = 2
survivors = 0

The 1996 New Hampshire Learjet crash involved a Learjet 35A which disappeared on Christmas Eve 1996 near Dorchester, New Hampshire. The crash created the longest missing aircraft search in the state's history, lasting almost three years. [ [http://www.nhahs.org/Newsletters/SummerAeronautR61.pdf "The Aeronaut", Summer 2006, New Hampshire Aviation Historical Society] ] Media attention eventually resulted in Congressional legislation mandating improved emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) be installed in U.S.-registered business jets. [ [http://www.ainonline.com/Features/cabinavionics.html "Aviation International News", "Cabin & Cockpit Avionics", Stephen Pope, March 2004] ]

Crash information

The aircraft involved, registration N388LS, was operated by the Aircraft Charter Group and flown by pilots Johan Schwartz and Patrick Hayes on a repositioning flight. They left Bridgeport, Connecticut, at 09:19am and 25 minutes later were flying the approach into Lebanon, New Hampshire. After one attempt at the ILS approach, the crew reported that they couldn't get the localizer, when they were actually several miles off course. They presumed ground equipment failure, and the pilot told the tower that he was executing a missed approach. The aircraft's last radar contact was as it proceeded outbound, seven nautical miles northeast of the VOR, at 4,800 ft. [http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001208X07226&ntsbno=NYC97FA194&akey=1 Detailed NTSB report of the crash] ] It was raining and foggy at the time.

Searches were mounted, unsuccessfully. The wreckage was found near Smarts Mountain almost three years later, on November 13, 1999, about 20 miles from the airport. Debris was spread over a 150 yard area in dense forest. The aircraft had descended into the ground 10.3 nautical miles earlier than normal.

The cause of the accident was listed as:

ELT implications

The crashed aircraft had no ELT on board, as that class of aircraft when used for FAR Part 135 charter operations, was exempt from the Federal requirements for this type of beacon. As a result, Congress directed the FAA to require the installation of 406 MHz ELTs in all business jets (replacing the 121.5Mhz units installed in some). [ [http://www.forestwatch.org/publications/Visions_Winter_2003.pdf Forest Watch.org] ]

References

External links

* [http://brian76.mystarband.net/Learjet.htm Crash and search details]

See also

columns |colwidth=23em
col1 =
*National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
*Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
*Cockpit voice recorder (CVR)
*Instrument approach
*Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
col2 =
*Ground proximity warning system (EGPWS)
*"Star Dust" (aircraft)
*Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
*Distress radiobeacon (ELT)