At 14:52 central time, a Canadair CL600-2B16 operating as a certification test flight crashed after takeoff from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The test flight was an evaluation of stick force per g of the airplane as per Joint Aviation Requirement 25.143(f). The pilot and flight test engineer were killed and the copilot sustained serious injuries. A witness reported seeing the airplane flying sideways about 6-10 ft. off of the ground. I then saw the aircraft level out, and I thought that everything was OK. I slowed down and was watching it and it tilted sideways again. The right wing then hit the ground and the airplane cartwheeled.
Oct. 10, Wichita, Kan. / Canadair Challenger
At 14:52 central time, a Canadair CL600-2B16 operating as a certification test flight crashed after takeoff from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The test flight was an evaluation of stick force per g of the airplane as per Joint Aviation Requirement 25.143(f). The pilot and flight test engineer were killed and the copilot sustained serious injuries. A witness reported seeing the airplane flying sideways about 6-10 ft. off of the ground. I then saw the aircraft level out, and I thought that everything was OK. I slowed down and was watching it and it tilted sideways again. The right wing then hit the ground and the airplane cartwheeled....
Key Takeaways:
- A Canadair CL600-2B16 crashed during a certification test flight after takeoff from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.
- The test flight, an evaluation of stick force per g as per aviation requirements, resulted in two fatalities (pilot and flight test engineer) and serious injuries to the copilot.
- A witness reported seeing the aircraft flying sideways shortly after takeoff, briefly leveling, then tilting sideways again before the right wing hit the ground, causing it to cartwheel.
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