Photo by: NTSB
A new report details the final moments on board a small jet that crashed and burst into flames on Interstate 75 in southwest Florida earlier this month, including the crew’s last messages with the control tower.
The 7-page preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday sheds new light on the Feb. 9 crash near Naples that left the jet’s captain and first officer dead and four others injured.
The jet, a Bombardier Challenger 604, was on its way from Ohio to Naples when it went down on the highway just east of the Naples Municipal Airport, hitting two cars, officials said.
According to the report, the jet was making its final approach to the airport and was about 6.5 miles away when a series of warnings went off.
The three “Master Warnings” started with a left engine oil pressure followed by the right engine oil pressure and then an engine warning, all within about 7 seconds, the report said.
“The system alerted pilots with illumination of a ‘Master Warning’ light on the glareshield, a corresponding red message on the crew alerting system page and a triple chime voice advisory (‘Engine oil),” the report said.
Moments later, the crew made an announcement to the tower controller.
“…Lost both engines…emergency…making an emergency landing,” was the first announcement, according to the report.
After the controller cleared the airplane to land, the crew made a second and final announcement.
“We are cleared to land but we are not going to make the runway…ah…we have lost both engines,” they said.
About 35 seconds later, the plane stopped tracking over I-75, the report said.
The report mentions the video that showed the plane crashing on the highway and exploding, and noted that the jet “continued through the break-down lane and into the grass shoulder area before impacting a concrete sound barrier” and came to rest about 1,000 feet past the initial touchdown point.
Pilot Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, and his second in command, Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, of Pompano Beach, were killed. The jet, as well as Murphy and Hofman, were part of Fort Lauderdale-based company Hop-A-Jet Worldwide Charter.
The cabin attendant and two passengers were able to make it out of the jet and were seen in witness video running from the wreckage.
“After the airplane came to rest, the cabin attendant stated that she identified that the cabin and emergency exits were blocked by fire and coordinated the successful egress of her passengers and herself through the baggage compartment door in the tail section of the airplane,” the report said.
The attendant, two passengers, and a person who was on the ground suffered minor injuries, the report said.
The report said Murphy had accrued 10,525 total hours of flight experience, including 2,808 hours with the type of jet that crashed. Hofmann had accrued 24,618 total hours of flight experience, including 138 hours with that type of jet, the report said.
The report said the jet, which was manufactured in 2004 had undergone a “continuous airworthiness inspection” on Jan. 5, 2024, at 9,763 total hours of operation.
Photos included in the report showed the path the jet took and where it went down, as well as the extinguished wreckage of the plane.
Although the report doesn’t appear to make any conclusions about why the jet went down, it said the main fuel inlet port exhibited a small, yellow-colored debris particle, and said a fuel sample contained a half ounce of what appeared to be water.
The report also notes that the main fuel pumps from both engines, the fuel injectors from both engines, fuel samples and both engines were retained for further examination.
The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash.
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Source: nbcmiami
