Agency Investigators To Interview Pilots As Soon As Possible

On Wednesday, we reported to you that a Bombardier Challenger 600 had skidded off the runway at the Teterboro Airport (NJ), and impacted a building. Thankfully, no one was killed in the accident, but at least three people remain in the hospital, including the captain and first officer of the cabin-class bizjet (file photo below).

NTSB investigators in the middle of their initial work to determine the probable cause(s) of the crash have told the Associated Press that they have found no evidence of icing on the aircraft prior to takeoff.

Employees of a local FBO at the airport were interviewed and both have stated that they saw no ice on the wings or on any surfaces of the aircraft. In addition, ten seconds of the aircraft's flight data recorder, as well as data from the voice recorder, have been recovered. The NTSB investigators are waiting for the captain and first officer to recover enough to talk to them about what happened when the accident took place.

The FBO company refueled the aircraft, but the pilots did not request deicing. Other aircraft that were waiting to take off also did not see icing on the CL-600. The voice recorder has not uncovered any other immediate information. A review of the recording by the investigators indicated that there was nothing abnormal up to the point where the aircraft crashed.

Just before the crash, the voices of the cockpit crew are heard saying that the takeoff is being aborted, but there was no indication as to why, and the tape ends at the time of the impact with the building. Skid marks were found on the runway beginning some 1,000 feet before the impact.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov