1996 New Hampshire Learjet crash

Accident summary
Date	1996-12-24
Type	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Dorchester, New Hampshire 43°49.56′N 72°00.75′W / 43.826°N 72.0125°W / 43.826; -72.0125Coordinates: 43°49.56′N 72°00.75′W / 43.826°N 72.0125°W / 43.826; -72.0125
Passengers	0
Crew	2
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Learjet 35A
Operator	Aircraft Charter Group, Inc.
Tail number	N388LS
Flight origin	Bridgeport, Connecticut
Destination	Lebanon, New Hampshire

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.^[1] Media attention eventually resulted in Congressional legislation mandating improved emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) be installed in U.S.-registered business jets.^[2]

Contents 1 Crash information 2 ELT implications 3 References 4 External links 5 See also

[edit] 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 (13 km) northeast of the VOR, at 4,800 ft (1,500 m).^[3] 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 (32 km) from the airport. Debris was spread over a 150-yard (140 m) area in dense forest. The aircraft had descended into the ground 10.3 nautical miles (19.1 km) earlier than normal.

The cause of the accident was listed as:

“

The captain's failure to maintain situational awareness, which resulted in the airplane being outside the confines of the instrument approach; and the crew's misinterpretation of a step-down fix passage, which resulted in an early descent into rising terrain. Factors included the captain's misreading of the instrument approach procedure, the crew's rushed and incomplete instrument approach briefing, their failure to use additional, available navigational aids, and their failure to account for the winds at altitude.[4]

”

[edit] 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).^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Crash and search details

[edit] See also

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Cockpit voice recorder (CVR) Instrument approach Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)

Ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) Star Dust (aircraft) Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Distress radiobeacon (ELT)

v • d • e ← 1995 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1996 1997→ Air Africa crash (January 8) — Birgenair Flight 301 (February 6) — Faucett Flight 251 (February 29) — 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash (April 3) — ValuJet Flight 592 (May 11) — Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 (June 9) — Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 (July 6) — TWA Flight 800 (July 17) — Spair Airlines Flight PAR-3601 (August 19) — Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 (August 29) — Aeroperú Flight 603 (October 2) — TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 (October 31) — Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision (Saudi Arabian 763 and Air Kazakhstan 1907) (November 12) — Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 (November 23) — 1996 New Hampshire Learjet crash (December 24) Bold blue indicates incidents resulting at least 50 deaths (current article is always in bold black) Orange indicates the deadliest incident in 1996

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