NYC03FA173

About 5 miles west of the airport, the flightcrew advised the approach controller that they had visual contact with the airport, canceled their IFR clearance, and proceeded under visual flight rules. A witness heard the airplane approach from the east, and observed the airplane at a height consistent with the approach minimums for the VOR approach. The airplane continued over the runway, and entered a "tight" downwind. The witness lost visual contact with the airplane due to it "skimming" into or behind clouds. The airplane reappeared from the clouds at an altitude of about 200 feet above the ground on a base leg. As it overshot the extended centerline for the runway, the bank angle increased to about 90-degrees. The airplane then descended out of view. The witness described the weather to the north and northeast of the airport, as poor visibility with "scuddy" clouds. According to CVR and FDR data, about 1.5 miles from the runway with the first officer at the controls, and south of the extended runway centerline, the airplane turned left, and then back toward the right. During that portion of the flight, the first officer stated, "what happens if we break out, pray tell." The captain replied, "uh, I don't see it on the left side it's gonna be a problem." When the airplane was about 1/8-mile south of the runway threshold, the first officer relinquished the controls to the captain. The captain then made an approximate 60-degree heading change to the right back toward the runway. The airplane crossed over the runway at an altitude of 200 feet, and began a left turn towards the center of the airport. During the turn, the first officer set the flaps to 20 degrees. The airplane reentered a left downwind, about 1,100 feet south of the runway, at an altitude of 400 feet. As the airplane turned onto the base leg, the captain called for "flaps twenty," and the first officer replied, "flaps twenty coming in." The CVR recorded the sound of a click, followed by the sound of a trim-in-motion clicker. The trim-in-motion audio clicker system would not sound if the flaps were positioned beyond 3 degrees. About 31 seconds later, the CVR recorded a sound similar to a stick pusher stall warning tone. The airplane impacted a rooftop of a residential home about 1/4-mile northeast of the approach end of the runway, struck trees, a second residential home, a second line of trees, a third residential home, and came to rest in a river. Examination of the wreckage revealed the captain's airspeed indicator reference bug was set to 144 knots, and the first officer's was set to 124 knots. The flap selector switch was observed in the "UP" position. A review of the Airplane Flight Manual revealed the stall speeds for flap positions of 0 and 8 degrees, and a bank angle of 60 degrees, were 164 and 148 knots respectfully. There were no charts available to calculate stall speeds for level coordinated turns in excess of 60 degrees. The flightcrew was trained to apply procedures set forth by the airplane's Technical Manual, which stated, "…The PF (Pilot Flying) will call for flap and gear extension and retraction. The PNF (Pilot not flying) will normally actuate the landing gear. The PNF will respond by checking appropriate airspeed, repeating the flap or gear setting called for, and placing the lever in the requested position... The PNF should always verify that the requested setting is reasonable and appropriate for the phase of flighty and speed/weight combination."

History of flight

On August 4, 2003, at 0639 eastern daylight time, a Learjet 35A, N135PT, operated by Air East Management Ltd., was destroyed when it impacted a residential home and terrain while maneuvering to land at the Groton/New London Airport (GON), Groton, Connecticut. The two certificated airline transport pilots were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for the flight, which originated from Republic Airport (FRG), Farmingdale, New York. The positioning flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

Review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control (ATC) communication and recorded radar data, revealed that the flight departed Republic Airport about 0610. About 5 miles west of Groton, the flightcrew advised the Providence Approach controller that they had visual contact with the airport, and requested to cancel their IFR clearance. The controller acknowledged the request and terminated the clearance. No further communications were received from the flightcrew.

According to the recorded radar data, a target was observed entering the left downwind for runway 23 at Groton, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, and continued to descend. About 2.7 miles northeast of the runway, the target made a left turn onto base leg. About 1.3 miles from the runway, and south of the extended runway centerline, the target turned left, and then back toward the right. When the target was about 1/8-mile south of the runway threshold, at an altitude of approximately 300 feet, an approximate 60-degree heading change to the right was made back toward the runway. The target crossed the runway at an altitude of approximately 200 feet, and began a left turn towards the center of the airport. The turn continued, and the target reentered a left downwind for runway 23 again, about 1,100 feet south of the runway, at an altitude of approximately 400 feet. The last target was observed at 0638:25, about 1/4-mile northeast of the runway.

Excerpts of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript revealed the following:

At 0634:09, the captain stated, "see it down there." The first officer replied, "should be, yeah...not yet. Under the cloud thing?" The captain replied, "no, right there."

At 0634:17, the captain radioed the approach controller that "five Papa Tango had the field in sight," and requested to cancel the IFR clearance. The controller acknowledged the request and terminated the clearance.

At 0635:22, the first officer stated, "flaps eight."

At 0635:25, the CVR recorded a sound similar to a trim-in-motion audio clicker, followed by the first officer stating, "hold on a second, flaps eight."

At 0635:28, the CVR recorded a sound of a click.

At 0635:29, the flightcrew announced on the radio, "Groton traffic, Lear one three five Papa Tango, left downwind for two three Groton."

At 0636:19, the first officer stated, "let me know when to turn?" The captain replied, "forty degrees of bank. Watch your speed."

At 0636:43, the first officer stated, "hold this altitude. We're near the ground." About 17 seconds later the first officer asked for "flaps full."

At 0637:28, the first officer stated, "what happens if we break out, pray tell." The captain replied, "uh, I don't see it on the left side it's gonna be a problem."

At 0637:45, the first officer stated, "damn it. you got the airplane." About 4 seconds later he stated, "can't do it right?"

At 0637:52, the CVR recorded a sound of a click. About 3 seconds later, the first officer stated, "okay, we have flaps twenty...do you want the gear up?" The captain replied, "leave 'em down."

At 0638:09, the CVR recorded a sound similar to increase in engine RPM.

At 0638:10, the captain stated, "yee haw." About 6 seconds later, the CVR recorded an unidentified voice state, "whoo."

At 0638:20, the first officer stated, "I should have put it on the uh, VOR. been better."

At 0638:28, the captain called for "flaps twenty." The first officer replied, "flaps twenty coming in," followed by the CVR recording the sound of a click.

At 0638:34, the CVR recorded a sound similar to an autopilot/yaw damper disengage tone, and 4 seconds later, a sound similar to a trim-in-motion audio clicker.

At 0638:43, the first officer stated, "airspeed's ten above," followed one second later with, "airspeed's right on."

At 0638:45, the CVR recorded a sound of a click.

At 0638:48, the CVR recorded a sound similar to a trim-in-motion audio clicker.

At 0638:49, the first officer stated, "watch your speed. it's gonna stall."

At 0638:50, the CVR recorded a sound similar to a stick pusher stall warning tone.

At 0638:55, the CVR recorded an unidentified voice state, "taking over," followed by the captain stating, "okay. I'm with you."

At 0639:01, the CVR recorded a sound of impact.

The recording ended at 0639:02.

A witness, who was conducting a pre-flight inspection on an airplane at the Groton airport, heard the accident airplane as it approached from the east. The witness observed the airplane at a height consistent with the approach minimums for the VOR approach, and turn left for the runway 23 downwind leg. The witness lost visual contact with the airplane as it continued on the downwind leg, due to it "skimming" into or behind clouds. The airplane reappeared from the clouds at an altitude of about 200 feet above the ground, and as it overshot the extended centerline for the runway, the bank angle increased to about 90-degrees. The airplane then descended out of view. The witness recalled hearing the airplane's engines increase just before the crash, "like it was a last chance effort." The witness described the weather to the north and northeast of Groton, as poor visibility with "scuddy" clouds.

A second witness observed the airplane proceed over the airport and initiate a steep left turn to join the downwind leg for runway 23. The airplane continued the left turn, increasing the bank angle to almost 90-degrees to the horizon. As the airplane was turning for it's final approach, it began to wobble from left to right, before disappearing behind a tree line.

The airplane's initial impact point was the rooftop of a single-story residential home, about 1/4-mile northeast of the approach end of runway 23. The wreckage path, which was orientated on a 280-degree heading, continued for about 800 feet through a small line of hardwood and evergreen trees, a second residential home, a second line of trees, a third residential home, down an embankment, and through a boardwalk, before coming to rest in the Pequannock River.

Post impact fires destroyed two of the residential homes, two automobiles, and five vessels moored on the river. There were no ground injuries reported.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight, at 41 degrees, 20.59 minutes north longitude, 72 degrees, 2.11 minutes west latitude, at an elevation of 11 feet msl.

Flightcrew information

Captain

The captain held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi-engine land, and a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land. He also held a flight instructor certificate for airplane single-engine land, and instrument airplane. In addition, the captain was type rated in the Learjet.

The captain's most recent FAA Airman Competency/Proficiency Check for the Learjet series was completed on May 1, 2003.

The captain's most recent FAA first class medical certificate was issued on June 24, 2003. On the application for the medical certificate, the captain reported 4,300 hours of total flight experience.

First Officer

The first officer held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine and multi-engine land, and a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine sea. He also held a f