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:

A Hawker 800XP business jet crashed in Michigan during a post-maintenance stall test flight, killing all three occupants, with the investigation focusing on the aircraft's stall characteristics and the crew's decision to perform the test themselves rather than hiring a test pilot.
The required stall test was conducted after seven months of routine maintenance, including wing leading edge inspections, which necessitated a post-maintenance stall test flight as per manufacturer guidelines.
The Hawker's pilot's operating manual warns of no natural stall warning or aerodynamic buffet prior to a stall and notes the potential for "aileron snatch," emphasizing the need for pilots to be prepared for unusual attitudes and recovery during such maneuvers.
This incident is the second Hawker jet crash in two years during a post-maintenance test flight requiring a stall check, with a similar accident involving a Hawker 900XP in February 2024 also under investigation.

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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.