- Date
- November 28, 2004, 09:55 local (16:55 UTC)
- Place
- Montrose, CO
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 3 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N873GCanadair CL-600-2A12
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 2006
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- Parties
- Bombardier, Jet Alliance/Air Castle Worldwide Executive Jet Ch, General Electric, Montrose Regional Airport, National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Transportation Safety Board Of Canada, Federal Aviation Administration, Air Castle Worldwide Executive Jet Charter, Transport Canada, Montrose Police Department, Federal Avation Administration, Montrose City/County Coroner
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20041128031429A
- Case key
- 60616
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the flight crew's failure to ensure that the airplane’s wings were free of ice or snow contamination that accumulated while the airplane was on the ground, which resulted in an attempted takeoff with upper wing contamination that induced the subsequent stall and collision with the ground. A factor contributing to the accident was the pilots’ lack of experience flying during winter weather conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
On November 28, 2004, about 0958 mountain standard time, a Canadair, Ltd., CL-600-2A12, N873G, registered to Hop-a-Jet, Inc., and operated by Air Castle Corporation dba Global Aviation as Glo-Air flight 73, collided with the ground during takeoff at Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ), Montrose, Colorado. The on-demand charter flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and snow was falling. Of the six occupants on board, the captain, the flight attendant, and one passenger were killed, and the first officer and two passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The flight was en route to South Bend Regional Airport (SBN), South Bend, Indiana.
The complete report of this accident investigation was adopted by the Safety Board on May 2, 2006, and is available on : http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/AAB0603.pdf
Factual narrative
On November 28, 2004, about 0958 mountain standard time, a Canadair, Ltd., CL-600-2A12, N873G, registered to Hop-a-Jet, Inc., and operated by Air Castle Corporation dba Global Aviation as Glo-Air flight 73, collided with the ground during takeoff at Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ), Montrose, Colorado. The on-demand charter flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and snow was falling. Of the six occupants on board, the captain, the flight attendant, and one passenger were killed, and the first officer and two passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The flight was en route to South Bend Regional Airport (SBN), South Bend, Indiana.
The complete report of this accident investigation was adopted by the Safety Board on May 2, 2006, and is available on : http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/AAB0603.pdf
Aircraft
- Registration
- N873G
- Reported as
- Canadair CL-600-2A12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3009
- Airframe hours
- 14,316.6
- Engines
- General Electric CF34-3A2, 8,729 lbs thrust, turbo fanGeneral Electric CF34-3A2, 8,729 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Air Castle Corporation, doing business as Hop-A-Jet Incorporated
- Registered owner
- Hop-A-Jet Incorporated
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · November 1, 2004 · 8.9 hours before
- Departed
- MTJ · Montrose, CO
- Destination
- SBN · South Bend, IN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MTJ · Montrose Regional, runway 31, 7,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 1, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 12,396 total · 913 in this make and model · 10,851 as pilot in command · 165 in the last 90 days · 87 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 30
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2004
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,586 total · 46 in this make and model · 76 in the last 90 days · 46 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 1.25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 900 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.67 inHg
- Observed at
- MTJ
Docket · 79
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 29, 2006, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 43.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.