NTSB Says Poor Decisions to Blame in Fatal Business Jet Accident

A string of failures led to the 2021 incident that killed all six people on board a Bombardier Challenger 605, according to the safety agency.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 07:24 PM ET

Verified

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a 26-page report detailing what led to a 2021 crash of a Bombardier Challenger 605 jet in California. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB determined the 2021 Truckee-Tahoe jet crash, which killed all six on board, was caused by a series of poor cockpit decisions and inadequate crew resource management.
Contributing factors included the flight crew's failure to brief a revised circle-to-land approach, maintain a stabilized approach, and visually identify the runway, leading to excessive speed and a tight flight pattern.
The First Officer's attempt to salvage the unstabilized approach by deploying flight spoilers, combined with the Captain's failure to intervene and both pilots ignoring stall warnings, significantly reduced the aircraft's stall margin, resulting in a left-wing stall and impact.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The National Transportation Safety Board has determined a series of poor decisions in the cockpit led to the crash of a business jet at Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK) in 2021 that killed all six people on board.

The accident occurred on July 26, 2021, when the Bombardier Challenger 605 was en route from Pappy Boyington Field (KCOE) in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to Truckee-Tahoe in California.