Sumwalt Says FDR Recorded Large Fluctuations In Pitch And Roll At Low Airspeed

The Phenom 100 that went down on approach to Gaithersburg, MD Monday went as slow as 88 knots before impacting a house in a residential neighborhood. The accident resulted in the fatal injury of three people in the house and three on board the airplane.

In a briefing for the media, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said that the preliminary information from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders recovered from the accident scene indicate that the airplane was functioning normally. "The aircraft was configured for landing with flaps extended and the landing gear down for landing," Sumwalt said. "Throughout the entire flight, the engine speeds followed their throttle commands."

In the final seconds of the flight, Sumwalt said the slowest recorded airspeed was 88 knots. "At that point there were large excursions in pitch and in roll," he said. "About 2 seconds after the lowest recorded airspeed, the throttles were advanced, and the engines responded."

Sumwalt said that there was little conversation during the flight captured by the Cockpit Voice Recorder. The Phenom 100 is certified for single-pilot operation, he said, and there was a passenger seated in the copilot's seat for the duration of the flight. The CVR did pick up an audible altitude warning at 500 feet, and an audible stall warning a few seconds before impact.

Sumwalt stressed that the information from the CVR and FDR are preliminary and subject to verification.

There were three instructor pilots operating in the vicinity of the Montgomery County Airpark at the time of the accident, Sumwalt said. One of those was in the traffic pattern, and two were on the ground. Sumwalt said that the airplane in flight was turning from downwind to base at the time of the accident, and they would have had a view of the airplane. Two pilots reported seeing the accident airplane involved in "a series of pitch and roll excursions."

Sumwalt reported that the accident pilot held ATP and CFI certificates with about 4,500 hours in his logbook and a current type rating for the Phenom 100. He confirmed that the pilot had been involved in an accident in 2010. There was no evidence of an in-flight fire or catastrophic engine failure. There was no evidence of bird ingestion.

Sumwalt said that the weather was VFR with a few clouds at 2,100 feet AGL, an overcast layer at 3,200 feet, and 10 miles of visibility. The wind was out of the northeast at six knots.

Sumwalt said that the investigation is still in its very early stages. "This is day one of the 'boots on the ground' investigation," he said. "There is a lot that needs to be done."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov