More Details Emerge From Earnhardt Citation Accident | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Mon, Aug 19, 2019

More Details Emerge From Earnhardt Citation Accident

4500 Foot Runway Shouldn't Have Been A Challenge For Citation Latitude N8JR

The first 24 hours post-accident in the Dale Earnhardt Jr accident is revealing a lot of initial info that is pointing to a number of possibilities early in the investigation.

An early look at the FAA Accident summary simply describes the accident as "AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED HARD LANDING, BOUNCED, DEPARTED RUNWAY AND CAUGHT FIRE."

The Cessna Citation Latitude 680A went off runway 24 after landing at Elizabethton, TN, Municipal Airport, an uncontrolled field, last Thursday.

The aircraft apparently experienced a hard landing. Several witnesses and some video confirm a few bounces in the aftermath followed by the aircraft leaving the runway, colliding with chain-link airport fencing and collapsing the gear as it went off the runway and through a ditch. The aircraft came to a stop near a nearby road, approximately 1000 feet after leaving the runway, and caught fire. NTSB investigator, Ralph Hicks, reported that video showed at least two bounces and the initial collapse of the right main gear.

The aircraft carried two pilots, Earnhardt, his wife and their one-year-old daughter. Injuries were minor through Dale Earnhardt Jr. has apparently decided to take a few days off before resuming his duties as an on-air motor sports commentator. The aircraft was CVR equipped, and the pilots have already conducted their first interviews with the NTSB.

Cessna's Citation Latitude is a jewel in the crown of the renewed Citation line... it claims a 2,700 nm range and a cruise speed of 513 mph. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 and was first announced at the 2011 NBAA convention, with the prototype first flight taking place on 18 February 2014. FAA Certification followed on June 5, 2015, with deliveries commencing August 27th.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.textron.com

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 06.30.25: US v ADS-B Misuse, Nat’l STOL Fire, Volocopter Resumes

Also: Netherlands Donates 18 F16s, 2 737s Collide On Ramp, E-7 Wedgetail Cut, AgEagle's 100th In S Korea The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act was introduced in the House by Represent>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23

Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]

ANN FAQ: Submit a News Story!

Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: One Man’s Vietnam

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]

Klyde Morris (06.30.25)

What Goes Around, May Yet Come Back Around, Klyde FMI: www.klydemorris.com>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC