NTSB: Post-Maintenance Stall Test Flown by Crew, Not Test Pilot, Preceded Fatal Hawker Crash

Preliminary report on the Michigan accident highlights stall characteristics and fateful decision.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, November 14, 2025 at 02:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Hawker 800XP [Credit: FLYING Archive]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB's preliminary investigation into the fatal Michigan Hawker 800XP crash focuses on the aircraft's stall characteristics and the flight crew's decision to conduct a required post-maintenance stall test themselves rather than hiring a specialized test pilot.
The aircraft's pilot's operating manual warns of the absence of natural stall warnings or aerodynamic buffet prior to a stall, and notes potential issues like "aileron snatch" that require pilots to be prepared for unusual attitudes and recovery.
This accident is the second fatal Hawker jet crash in two years during a post-maintenance test flight, both involving similar circumstances after extensive wing inspections requiring stall warning and systems checks.

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The preliminary investigation into the crash of a business jet in Michigan in October is focusing on the stall characteristics of the aircraft and the crew’s decision to conduct a postmaintenance test flight themselves rather than hiring a test pilot.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday released the preliminary report on the crash of the Hawker 800XP (Mexican registration XA-JMR) that went down near Bath Township on October 16, killing all three occupants. They were identified as two pilots and a maintenance representative, all three from Mexico.