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.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov