One year ago, federal investigators discovered a “long list of shortcomings” in the training of pilots and in the operations of the charter company whose business jet crashed into an apartment building in Akron, Ohio, resulting in the deaths of all nine people on board. – WASHINGTON
On November 10, 2015, an aerodynamic stall caused a crash at Akron airport before the landing approach. The National Transportation Safety Board released a report on Tuesday, which concluded that the pilots violated company procedures and failed to follow the approved checklists.
Investigators concluded that the captain received a satisfactory grade for an unsuccessful examination from Execuflight, their charter company that provides services upon request, without verifying the reasons behind the termination of both pilots from their prior employers due to training issues. The board determined that an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration neglected to identify insufficient pilot training, maintenance, and operations within the company.
“There were numerous failures involved in this accident,” stated board member Robert Sumwalt.
Execuflight, Sumwalt stated, “was filled with carelessness,” from the cockpit to the corporate headquarters.
While en route from Dayton, the Hawker 700A aircraft tragically crashed approximately two miles before reaching the Akron runway, causing the unfortunate demise of both pilots and seven passengers. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported among the individuals on the ground.
The first officer, though flying the plane, did not take control of the aircraft as the captain suggested. Instead, the investigators found that the plane descended twice as fast as the company’s recommended guidelines.
According to investigators, the aircraft experienced a greater reduction in speed than normal due to the first officer, who was piloting the aircraft, selecting a wing flap angle of 45 degrees instead of the standard 25 degrees. The pilots failed to perform a checklist for the approach or communicate important information such as the plane’s altitude or the deployment of the landing gear, as stated by investigators.
However, they did not do so, made another attempt and flew in a circular pattern around the airport. The pilots ought to have canceled the landing, as recommended by company policy, due to the issues concerning velocity and elevation.
“The safeguards incorporated into the system were not implemented, and they ought to have been,” expressed Christopher Hart, the chairman of the board. “We discovered a flight crew, a company, and FAA inspectors who failed to meet their responsibilities concerning safety.”
Based on a transcript of the cockpit recorder, the captain alerted the co-pilot that he was descending at a rate higher than the desired goal of 1,000 feet per minute during the approach to the airport.
“You’re submerging. Refrain from diving,” the captain expressed. “Don’t descend at a rate of 2,000 feet per minute.”
The pilot cautions to keep the aircraft at a higher altitude in order to decrease the speed of the flying plane, as indicated by the unsettling noise caused by the shaking. Furthermore, the plane’s warning system alerts the pilot approximately 10 seconds later, urging them to descend.
Just a few moments after the shaking, the aircraft’s alert system announces “ascend” and the sound of a collision is perceived.
The Ohio plane crash was captured on surveillance video.
The company employed two pilots in June 2015.
Investigators have reported that Renato Marchese, a 50-year-old officer from Boynton Beach, Fla., Was terminated from Sky King in February 2015 due to “significant performance deficiencies” in simulator training for a Boeing 737.
Passengers who were aboard planes flying abroad typically had co-pilots with them, although even the company executives said that the experience of flying the plane was with captains, who had 4,382 hours of flying experience.
Earl Weener, a member of the safety board, stated that the company exhibited a “reckless attitude” towards pilot training.
According to investigators, the former captain, Oscar Mosquera Chavez, who was fired by his previous employer in Heralpin, had accumulated a total of 6,170 flight hours in Miami, USA, with the last required training flight taking place before April 2015.
Investigators reported that the captain exhibited shortcomings in comprehending his obligations and overseeing the flight-deck. As per the investigators, Execuflight granted the captain a perfect grade on the crew-resource management multiple-choice assessment, however, his responses warranted a score of only 40%.