“The entire normal operating checklist for the new Embraer Phenom 100 light business jet fits on both sides of a laminated card that you can slide into a shirt pocket,” former Flying editor Mac McClellan wrote approvingly in his 2009 report on the airplane. “The Phenom is designed to cut pilot workload to a minimum so there is time to focus on the overall situation while the airplane and its systems take care of themselves.”
Aftermath: Failure to Focus on the Overall Situation
Key Takeaways:
- A Phenom 100 light jet crashed, killing six, after an aerodynamic stall caused by ice accretion during approach, which the NTSB attributed to the pilot's failure to activate anti-ice systems.
- The pilot likely avoided using anti-ice because it would have significantly increased the required approach speed (vref) and reduced the safe landing distance margin on the destination runway.
- The article suggests that current certification standards, which impose a large performance penalty for anti-ice use, may inadvertently incentivize pilots to omit critical icing protection, indicating a broader systemic issue.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
