Crucial Safety Issues Unveiled in Fatal Hawker Test Flight
The National Transportation Safety Board recently disclosed a preliminary report concerning the tragic crash of a Raytheon Hawker 800XP in Michigan on October 16. This incident resulted in the death of all three occupants during a compulsory post-maintenance stall test flight. The report indicates that the crew opted to undertake this perilous test themselves, having failed to arrange it with a seasoned test pilot.
The aircraft had been under maintenance for seven months at Duncan Aviation’s Battle Creek facility. This included work on the wing leading edge, necessitating a stall test before returning to service. Duncan Aviation had supplied the crew with a list of competent test pilots. However, the flight crew decided to carry out the test independently. During the flight, the crew communicated, “we are in a stall, recovering, sorry” just moments before the aircraft plunged rapidly from 14,000 feet.
The Hawker 800XP’s Pilot’s Operating Manual expressly cautions that the aircraft offers “no natural stall warning or aerodynamic buffet prior to a stall”. It further advises that pilots undertaking stall tests “should have prior experience in performing stalls in the Hawker”. This incident marks the second fatal Hawker crash during post-maintenance stall testing in recent years, underlining grave safety issues in business aviation maintenance procedures.