National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators are closely analyzing the contents of cockpit voice and flight data recorders recovered intact from the wreckage of the Gulfstream IV that crashed May 31 on takeoff from Bedford-Hanscom Field (BED) in Massachusetts. The accident killed all four passengers and three crew on board.
In a televised briefing last week, NTSB investigator-in-charge Luke Schiada said the recorders provide solid information until the moment of the crash off the end of BED’s 7,011-foot-long Runway 11. The aircraft takeoff roll lasted 49 seconds before the recordings were terminated, with normal V-speed callouts occurring during takeoff until the moment of rotation when pilot conversation about aircraft controllability could be heard. The GIV reached 165 knots but never left the ground and the crew attempted to abort the takeoff, deploying maximum reverse thrust in the process.
The airplane was unable to stop on the remaining runway and crashed into a gully about 2,000 feet beyond the departure end of the pavement and was subsequently destroyed by fire. Schiada said the aircraft’s takeoff weight and flap settings are still being determined, and that airport surveillance camera footage has yet to be analyzed.
Comments
wolffst
June 14, 2014 - 5:55am
I would like to know how the pilot advanced the throttles more than 1.25 inches with the gust lock on ? They would also would have an indication light on the Master Warning panel.