By Aaron Cooper, CNN
(CNN) — The National Transportation Safety Board says “extensive corrosion… consistent with exposure to a saltwater environment” caused both engines of a Bombardier Challenger 600 charter jet to stop working at virtually the same time, leading the pilots to crash land on a busy Florida highway.
Problems with the engines were noticed weeks before, but after days of maintenance work and consultations with the manufacturer, the corrosion was not found and the plane was allowed to keep flying, the NTSB said.
On February 9, 2024, Hop-A-Jet flight 823 was flying from Columbus, Ohio, and preparing to land in Naples, Florida, when both engines stalled and stopped providing thrust “which was unrecoverable, at the low altitude,” according to the report.
“What the hell what— oh right engine just quit,” the first officer Ian Hofmann said, according to a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder.
About 1,700 feet above the ground and five miles from the airport, the other engine overheated and also stopped working, the NTSB said. The pilots declared an emergency and were approved to land by the air traffic control tower.
“We’re clear to land but we’re not gonna make the runway uh we’ve lost both engines,” Hofmann radioed the control tower.
Alarms sounded in the cockpit as the pilots searched for a place to put the plane down.
“There’s some water right there,” Hofmann volunteered, according to the transcript. “Negative. I’m landing right here,” Pilot Ed Murphy responded.
“The road’s got traffic man,” Hofmann warned. “Land in the grass.”
Warnings continued as the plane descended, hitting two vehicles and crossing the road and onto the shoulder, eventually hitting a wall beside the highway.
The two pilots were killed. Cabin attendant Sydney Ann Bosmans, the two passengers and one person on the ground had minor injuries.
“I just remember seeing my hair kind of flying in front of my face and just sitting there in the brace position and thinking, you know, I really hope nothing hits me,” Bosmans told investigators. “The whole cabin was just ripped apart, and all I see are just neon flames, and there’s just smoke filling pretty quickly. And I knew from my training, you know, if I don’t get us out, that the smoke’s just going to kill us alone.”
She eventually was able to open a baggage door and all three of the surviors climbed out
“The corrosion buildup likely occurred over time as the airplane was continually exposed to salt air associated with marine climates,” the NTSB determined. “Since its manufacture, the airplane was primarily based at airports located in close proximity to the ocean.”
25 days before the crash there was a problem starting both of the plane’s engines, called a hung start, and the plane’s operator contacted GE, who built the engines, to determine what was wrong.
“According to the engine manufacturer, a hung start may be an indicator of corrosion buildup in the engine and will result in poor engine starting and operating performance,” the report said.
But after several days of maintenance work, “the engines were started and no further anomalies were noted, allowing discontinuing of troubleshooting.”
The plane flew 33 more times over the next 25 days before the accident.
As a result of this crash, methods to detect corrosion were prioritized in the troubleshooting for hung starts.
A service warning from GE required the inspection of similar engines, and seven were removed from service as a result, including four from the company that operated the flight which crashed in Naples.
The-CN