GP Express Airlines aircraft accident in 1993

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GP Express Airlines aircraft accident in 1993
Hub Airlines Beech 99 Airliner N1128H 2.jpg

A Beechcraft Model 99 from Hub Airlines
Accident summary
Accident type Controlled flight into terrain during the flight of a prohibited aerobatic maneuver
place 6 miles east of Shelton , Nebraska United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
date April 28, 1993
Fatalities 2
Survivors 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type United StatesUnited States Beechcraft C99
operator United StatesUnited States GP Express Airlines
Mark United StatesUnited States N115GP
Departure airport Grand Island Airport , Nebraska , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Destination airport Grand Island Airport , Nebraska , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Passengers 0
crew 2
Lists of aviation accidents

A GP Express Airlines aircraft accident occurred on April 28, 1993 near Shelton in the American state of Nebraska . A Beechcraft C99 belonging to the regional airline GP Express Airlines fell to the ground during a test flight, killing the two pilots present on board. The investigation attributed the accident to the crew's gross negligence and lack of discipline.

plane

The affected machine was a Beechcraft C99. The machine was finally assembled in 1986 and had the factory number U-228. It was delivered brand new to the Peruvian airline Linea Aerea Oriental in April 1986 with the aircraft registration CP-2106 . In March 1989 the US American World Jet bought the aircraft and put it into service with the registration N29WJ . On June 26, 1990, the US airline GP Express Airlines from Nebraska acquired the machine and registered it with the registration number N115GP . The twin-engine regional airliner, which was designed for flights at comparatively low altitudes due to the lack of a pressurized cabin , was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-36 turboprop engines . The cumulative operating performance of the machine up to the accident was 6962 operating hours.

Purpose of flight

A test flight was carried out with the machine that day. The purpose of the flight was a legally prescribed, every 6 months, regular review of the flight skills of the captain of the machine. For this reason there was a test captain next to him in the right pilot seat.

Crew members

At the time of the accident, there were two pilots on board the aircraft, both of whom were certified as test captains and had type ratings for all three types of aircraft that made up the GP Express Airlines fleet:

  • The 29-year-old captain of the aircraft, who was behind the wheel, had been employed by GP Express Airlines since September 20, 1989. By this time, according to his résumé, he had acquired 1,666 hours of flight experience. In addition to the Beechcraft C-99, it was also certified for Cessna 402 and Beechcraft 1900 machines . The captain initially flew Cessna 402 machines in the position of first officer, and from January 30, 1990 in the same position in the Beechcraft C99. From May 5, 1990 he was promoted to captain of the Cessna 402 and from October 4, 1990 to the captain of the C99. On January 16, 1991 he was appointed test captain. He had 5611 hours of flight experience, 2200 of which he had completed in the Beechcraft C99.
  • The 28-year-old test captain in the right pilot's seat was hired by GP Express Airlines on May 28, 1990 and at that time had over 1002 hours of flight experience. Just like his colleague, in addition to the Beechcraft C99, he was also certified for Cessna 402 and Beechcraft 1900 machines . He was first used as first officer in the Cessna 402 and flew in the same role in the Beechcraft C99 from September 24th. On January 3, 1991 he became captain of the Cessna 402, on June 20, 1991 and November 24, 1992 he was certified for the same position on board the Beechcraft C99 and Beechcraft 1900. He qualified as test captain on board the Beechcraft C-99 on September 21, 1992. At the time of the accident, the non-flying pilot had 3941 hours of flight experience, 1760 of which were in the cockpit of the Beechcraft C99.

The two pilots were friends and regularly organized parties with their families.

the accident

The plane took off after close of business at 11:43 p.m. local time from Central Nebraska Regional Airport in Grand Island, Nebraska , where the company's headquarters were located. After only seven minutes in the air, the plane hit a field six miles east of Shelton , Nebraska, at high impact velocity . The aircraft's angle of attack on impact was around 0 degrees, while the aircraft had a slight roll angle to the left. The wreckage was distributed over a length of 1560 feet (approx. 475.5 meters).

Accident investigation

The accident investigation was conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The plane involved in the accident was not equipped with a flight data recorder , nor was one required. However, there was a cockpit voice recorder on board on which the conversations between the two pilots were recorded for a total of 32 minutes. The quality of the recordings was good; the recordings included the flight involved in the accident and a repositioning flight that the same crew had undertaken with the same aircraft.

While listening to the recordings of the voice recorder, the investigators heard the pilots talking about aerobatic maneuvers. Both spoke very openly about barrel rolls and realized that neither of them had flown such a maneuver. The pilot Flying was describing how to fly a barrel roll when the recording suddenly stopped.

The investigators investigated the thesis that the pilot Flying tried to fly a barrel roll with the plane before the impact. The distribution of the wreckage and the resulting impact characteristics supported this assumption. Ultimately, it was found that the aircraft had been flown into the ground because the maneuver was carried out at an altitude that was too low to intercept the aircraft again.

After it was possible to determine how the accident had occurred, an attempt was made to determine the pilots' motives for performing such a risky maneuver. The toxicological tests did not reveal any evidence of alcohol or drug influence on the part of the two pilots. A review of their social backgrounds also did not reveal any relevant evidence. Both pilots were happily married, the elder had two sons aged 4 and 9, and the younger had a 4 month old son.

During the interviews with witnesses, with one exception, nobody was aware that the captain of the machine had ever flown aerobatic maneuvers with a commercial aircraft. He had never told his wife or any other family members or friends about it. However, a first officer of GP Express Airlines testified that at a time when he himself was still in training and had not yet been hired by the airline, he had observed two wing-over maneuvers and one by the captain Turn . The first officer was of the opinion that the captain had flown these maneuvers to frighten him.

The investigators also objected to the airline's security policy and, in particular, to the implementation of measures to improve the level of security. It was already the third fatal accident involving GP Express Airlines, which was founded in 1986:

  • On December 22, 1987, a Cessna 402 (N105GP) was flown off-road on approach for landing near Chadron, Nebraska. Two out of three occupants were killed on board. The accident investigation revealed violations of regulations for instrument flight and the inability of the master to maintain the altitude during an NDB approach as the causes of the accident .
  • On June 8, 1992, 3 out of 6 occupants of a Beechcraft C-99 (N118GP) died when the machine was flown off-road near Anniston, Alabama . The investigators attributed the accident to the deployment of a poorly trained and inexperienced crew, who had a lack of situational awareness prior to the collision and were wrong about the site.

The final report was published by the NTSB on January 19, 1994. The investigators stated that the cause of the accident was the deliberate violation of both national flight safety regulations and the operating regulations of GP Express Airlines by both pilots. With their decision to perform an aerobatic maneuver during a prescribed test flight, both pilots would have missed the sense of prudent, safety-conscious flight behavior. In addition, the airline had not succeeded in teaching its pilots how to behave professionally and in accordance with the safety standards of a passenger airline.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Accident report Cessna 402C N105GP , Aviation Safety Network Wikibase, accessed on August 17, 2019
  2. ↑ accident report C99, N118GP , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on August 17, 2019

Coordinates: 40 ° 49 '20 "  N , 98 ° 41' 14"  W.