Conflicting Reports On Whether Luggage Door Was Open
Editor's Note: Below is
the unedited NTSB Preliminary Report on the fatal crash of a Cessna
CitationJet (C525) near Van Nuys Airport
January 12.
In the report, the NTSB states investigators were
unable to confirm accounts from several witnesses stating dark
objects fell out of an open left baggage door in the plane's
nosecone, and that those objects were pulled into the jet's left
engine. Other witnesses say the door was closed as the jet took
off.
Investigators determined in their post-crash examination the
front left baggage door appeared to be in the unlocked position.
The NTSB says that does not mean the door was open at the time of
the accident, however -- and adds similar incidents on other
Citations have not proven debilitating.
The left engine separated from the airframe in the crash...
but showed no apparent sign of inflight damage from debris. The
right engine had significant damage, which may have been caused by
impact forces.
A pilot who departed after the Citation told the Board the
jet appeared to be flying slower than normal before it banked hard
right, and into the ground. Pilots Frank Kratzer, 72, and Fernando
Miguel Fernandez, 49, were lost in the crash.
NTSB Identification: LAX07MA069
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, January 12, 2007 in Van Nuys, CA
Aircraft: Cessna 525, registration: N77215
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On January 12, 2007, about 1107
Pacific standard time, a Cessna CitationJet 525, N77215, collided
with terrain in Van Nuys, California. Sunquest Executive Air
Charter was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR
Part 91. The airline transport pilot and the commercial copilot
sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The
cross-country positioning flight was departing with a planned
destination of Long Beach, California. Visual meteorological
conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight
plan had been filed. The approximate global positioning system
(GPS) coordinates of the primary wreckage were 34 degrees 13.535
minutes north latitude and 118 degrees 29.621 minutes west
longitude.
Linemen added 190 gallons of fuel in each wing. One of the
linemen observed the copilot preflight the airplane and load bags
into the left front baggage compartment. He noted that the copilot
pulled the front left baggage door down with one hand, but did not
see him latch or lock it. The airplane was then towed to a start-up
area; the start-up area was on the other side of a hangar, and out
of sight. Several minutes later the CitationJet crew reported that
they were ready to go. A lineman went to the start-up area and
directed them out of the ramp area. He could not tell if the
baggage door was locked.
The airplane taxied the full length of the airport to the
departure end of runway 34L, which is 8,001 feet long. Witnesses at
midfield noted that the airplane was airborne and then leveled off;
the front left baggage door was closed. Witnesses at the end of the
runway said that the baggage door was open, and the airplane was
about 200 feet above ground level (agl). The airplane turned
slightly left, and was slow. It began descending, and the wings
were rocking. It then did a hard right turn, and into the ground.
The airplane cut one string of power lines that were perpendicular
to the flight path; the falling line hit one witness in the head.
Another witness said that the wings were nearly vertical to the
ground when the airplane hit. The right wing hit in the street, and
the airplane went through a set of power lines parallel to the
flight path. It continued through a wire fence with a cinder block
wall behind it, and through another cinderblock wall with a wire
fence behind it.
A Cessna 414 departed behind the CitationJet. Just after the
tower cleared the 414 for takeoff, one of the CitationJet's pilots
indicated that they wanted to return for landing. The tower asked
if they could make it back to runway 34L, and the crew acknowledged
34L. A few seconds later the tower cleared them to land on any
runway, and the response was OK. The 414 pilot had the CitationJet
in sight, and indicated that he was looking down at it, and it
appeared to be slow. He saw the slight left turn, and the hard
right into the ground. He was able to maneuver away from the
fireball.
Some witnesses thought that they saw dark objects fall from the
airplane, and enter the left engine. The airport did two checks for
loose objects, and found nothing. Law enforcement scoured the area
from the end of the runway to the crash site, and found nothing.
Most of this space was an open sod field.
Investigators established control continuity, determined that
the gear were down, and the speed brakes were stowed. The left
engine separated, and was 100 feet in front of the main wreckage.
It turned freely when manually rotated. The right engine remained
in place, but sustained mechanical damage and would not rotate. The
sides were crushed, and cinder block pieces were in the inlet.
Examination of the front left baggage door indicated that the
key mechanism was in the unlocked position. The Airplane Flight
Manual (AFM) noted that upon energizing the electrical system, the
amber master caution light would illuminate, and an amber
annunciator light would flash if the cabin entry door, either of
the forward baggage doors, or the tail cone door was not key
locked. After pressing the master caution light, it would
extinguish, but the DOOR NOT LOCKED annunciator light would remain
on continuously. The annunciator panel is in the middle of the
glare shield across the top of the instrument panel.
A review of previous reports noted other instances of a front
baggage door popping open on several different Citation models. In
some cases the door separated, and the crews landed uneventfully.
In at least one case, a front baggage door on a model with a
similar nose configuration stayed attached. That crew returned to
the departure airport, and landed successfully.