# Accident 20021108031189A: Israel 1124A, Taos, NM, November 8, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 8, 2002, 14:57 local time - Place: Taos, NM - Airport: Taos Municipal Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: BQVA - Location: 36.6033° N, 105.8506° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6033&lon=-105.8506&mi=10 - Aircraft: N61RS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N61RS-2003-03-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Israel Aircraft Industries 1124A (registry code 4500103, https://openairdocs.org/model/israel-aircraft-industries-1124a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Garrett TFE731 series (registry code 29001, https://openairdocs.org/engine/garrett-tfe731-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: ISRAEL 1124A - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW03FA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW03FA036) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021108031189A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON NOVEMBER 8, 2002, APPROXIMATELY 1457 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, AN ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES 1124A (WESTWIND 24) BUSINESS JET, N61RS, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN AFTER PASSING THE INITIAL APPROACH FIX WHILE EXECUTING THE VOR/DME-B APPROACH TO THE TAOS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (SKX) NEAR TAOS, NEW MEXICO. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REGISTERED TO ABRAMS AVIATION LLC OF AUBURN, ALABAMA AND OPERATED BY RICHMOR AVIATION OF HUDSON, NEW YORK. BOTH AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOTS WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED AND ACTIVATED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 POSITIONING FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA AT 1353 AND WAS DESTINED FOR TAOS TO PICK UP A PASSENGER. RADAR DATA INDICATES THAT THE AIRPLANE PASSED THE TAS VORTAC AT 1456:39, AT AN ALTITUDE OF 15,000 FEET MSL. ALBUQUERQUE AIR ROUTE CONTROL CENTER (ARTCC) CONTROLLERS HEARD A "MAYDAY" RADIO CALL (FOUR QUICK MAYDAYS), AND RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST WITH THE AIRPLANE AT 1457:08, AT AN ALTITUDE OF 14,700 FEET MSL. THERE WAS NO FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH THE AIRPLANE. ONE WITNESS REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE FLEW OVERHEAD HEADING TOWARD THE WEST. AS THE AIRPLANE PASSED OVERHEAD, THE WITNESS HEARD THE ENGINES POWER UP AND POWER DOWN. THE WITNESS FURTHER REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE MADE A DESCENDING LEFT TURN UNTIL IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE WITNESS STATED THAT WHEN THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND A LARGE FIRE BALL ERUPTED. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THAT AFTER THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND, AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE STRUCK POWER LINES, CROSSED STATE HIGHWAY 64 AT MILE MARKER 230, BEFORE COMING TO REST. THE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION PATH WAS ORIENTED ON A MEASURED MAGNETIC HEADING OF 050 DEGREES. THE FURTHEST PIECE OF WRECKAGE WAS THE RIGHT ENGINE, WHICH WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 1,351 FEET FROM THE INITIAL GROUND IMPACT POINT. THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER (CVR). THE CVR WAS RECOVERED AND TRANSPORTED TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD'S VEHICLE RECORDER DIVISION IN WASHINGTON DC FOR EXAMINATION. (-23) ON NOVEMBER 08, 2002, AT 1457 MST, AN ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY WESTWIND 1124A BUSINESS JET, N61RS, REGISTERED TO ABRAMS AVIATION LLC OF AUBURN, ALABAMA AND OPERATED BY RICHMOR AVIATION OF HUDSON, NY, IMPACTED THE GROUND AFTER PASSING THE INITIAL APPROACH TO FIX TO THE TAOS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, TAOS, NM WHILE ON A 14 CFR, PART 91 POSITIONING FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND BOTH AIRLINE TRANSPORT RATED FLIGHT CREW MEMBERS WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, ON NOVEMBER 08, 2002 AT 1353 MST, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO TAOS TO PICK UP A PASSENGER. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW03FA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW03FA036), Nov 8, 2002: Israel Aircraft Industries 1124A (N61RS), Taos, NM, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent flight into mountain wave weather conditions while IMC, resulting in a loss of aircraft control. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.