Airplane Went Down In A Residential Neighborhood In Gaithersburg, MD

The pilot whose jet went down into a neighborhood in Gaithersburg, MD Dec. 8, 2014, failed to turn on crucial de-icing equipment, which led to ice accumulation on the wings, an aerodynamic stall, and then the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board announced during a public meeting in Washington D.C. Tuesday.

The pilot, two passengers, and three people on the ground were fatally injured when the Embraer EMB-500 Phenom (Phenom 100) crashed. The crash and ensuing fire damaged three houses.

"Pilots must rely on checklists and procedures because relying only on memory can have deadly results," said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart. "The pilot’s failure to turn on the de-icing system in an icing situation proved to be disastrous."

The NTSB’s investigation found the pilot did not use the wing and horizontal stabilizer de-icing system on the Embraer EMB-500 Phenom during the approach to Montgomery County Airpark, despite conditions reported by the automated weather observing system, his earlier use of the de-icing system during the flight and, according to the cockpit voice and data recorder, the observation of a passenger that it was snowing outside.

By not taking possible icing into consideration, the pilot set approach and landing speeds that were too slow for conditions, leading to an aerodynamic stall at an altitude at which a recovery was not possible. The airplane crashed less than a mile from the runway.

Investigators, using information gleaned from the flight recorder, also found evidence that the pilot skipped certain checklist items and procedures before takeoff.

The board issued one recommendation each to the FAA and GAMA that they develop a system that can automatically alert pilots when ice protection systems should be turned on in certain airplanes. The NTSB also recommended to the National Business Aviation Association that it develop enhanced pilot training guidelines for flying in winter weather conditions, including the use of ice protection and adherence to checklists.

(Source: NTSB news release. Images from NTSB presentations)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/2016_gaithersburg_BMG.aspx