Investigators Recover CVR, Ground Warning System

Investigators released new information this weekend regarding Thursday's fatal crash of a Hawker 800 at a Minnesota airport.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports the business jet's right wing struck a localizer antenna about 1,000 feet off the departure end of the runway, as the pilot apparently attempted a go-around following a botched landing.

"The antenna stands about 8 feet high and straddles the width of the runway," said National Transportation Safety Board member Steven Chealander. "We have witness accounts that it did touch down and [the pilot] was trying to land and during the landing roll out, for some reason they made a decision to try to take off and get airborne again.

"The airplane was still on the ground when it hit that antenna, and the accident sequence began at that point and [the plane] ended up in that cornfield," Chealander added.

As ANN reported, East Coast Jets 81, inbound from Atlantic City, NJ, crashed Thursday morning on landing at Owatonna Degner Regional Airport (OWA), overrunning the end of the runway. Out of the two pilots and six passengers onboard, seven were confirmed lost at the scene; the eighth later died after being transported to an area hospital.

For the moment, investigators still aren't certain why the Hawker 800 crashed. Lingering winds off a strong weather system that passed through the area shortly before the jet's fateful arrival at OWA may have been a factor, though Chealander cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

"We are looking at all aspects of the flight, not just focusing on any one thing," he said.

Of help to investigators will be the three flight data recorders onboard the Hawker, including a cockpit voice recorder and a Honeywell enhanced ground proximity warning system.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov