NTSB Investigating Maryland Phenom Crash

Stall warnings sounded and large changes in pitch and roll were recorded on a Phenom 100 before it crashed December 8 near Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Md. NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said initial flight data recorder findings showed that with the landing gear and flaps down, “automated stall warnings began about 20 seconds before the end of the flight” and continued to the end of the recording. The recorder tracked pitch and roll changes that began when the aircraft reached its lowest airspeed, about 88 knots. “Two seconds after the aircraft reached its lowest speed, the throttles increased power and the engines responded,” Sumwalt said. Initial investigation does not indicate pre-impact engine fire or failure, according to the Board, which also said that early reports of local bird activity were not along the Runway 14 final approach course. The Phenom 100, N100EQ, was manufactured in April this year. The pilot held an ATP certificate and a type rating in the aircraft and had logged 4,500 hours. Sumwalt confirmed that the same pilot was involved in a 2010 aircraft accident. The December 8 accident claimed the lives of all three people on board the aircraft as well as three more in one of three homes struck by the aircraft.