Preliminary Report: Citation might have ingested birds

By Mary F. Silitch

May 1, 2008
Accidents

Cessna 500 Citation I, Oklahoma City, March 4–The Southwest Orthopedic and Sport Medicine Clinic’s Citation I was destroyed when control was lost soon after takeoff from Wiley Post Airport. The ATP-rated pilot, commercial copilot and three passengers were killed.

One witness, a former Air Force crew chief, said he heard a sound that resembled an “engine compressor stall. He saw the Citation descending at a 60- to 70-degree nose-down attitude.

Six witnesses reported smoke trailing the descending airplane. A witness told a local tv station that the Citation “flew right through a flock of birds.

He said he heard a bird being sucked through an engine and then saw a dead bird floating in the nearby lake. Investigators found that the CVR was not working during the flight.

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