Lessons from the Truckee NTSB Case Study

The only good thing to come out of aviation accidents, be they large or small, is that we can often learn from the mistakes of others.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 02:53 PM ET

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The airplane’s downwind leg and allowed circling radius. [Courtesy: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The 2021 Challenger 605 accident at Truckee-Tahoe Airport, killing all on board, was primarily caused by an unstabilized circle-to-land approach combined with poor crew resource management (CRM) and decision-making.
Key failures included the crew's neglect to brief the modified approach, maintaining excessive airspeed throughout the maneuver, premature turns, and a breakdown in cockpit communication and assertive control exchange between the captain and first officer.
The accident highlights the critical importance of comprehensive pre-approach briefings to establish a shared mental model and strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Effective CRM training, emphasizing assertive communication, positive control exchange, and the willingness of the pilot monitoring to take control when necessary, must be taught and reinforced from the earliest stages of flight instruction.

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The only good thing to come out of aviation accidents, be they large or small, is that we can often learn from the mistakes of others. I adopted this mindset years ago when I was tasked with writing up accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In hindsight, the mistakes can be glaring, leaping off the page. How to mitigate the risks and the failures that led to the event takes a little more thought.

The NTSB recently released a video of a panel discussion about the 2021 accident involving a Challenger 605 attempting a circle to land approach at Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK), in Truckee, California, that resulted in the deaths of the flight crew, six passengers, and two dogs. The probable cause of the accident was released in August of this year and listed as a combination of an unstabilized approach and the flight crew’s poor crew resource management and decision making. The panel discussion took the event apart step by step to identify the issues and suggest ways to mitigate these risks.