Both engines flamed out on a small business jet that crashed on a Texas highway in June, preventing the pilots from being able to reach a nearby airport, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an preliminary investigation report released Friday.
Pilots had looked for a field or other flat areas to land prior to the crash, but were told by air traffic controllers that there were none close by. The crash killed one person and injured six.
According to the report, the flight crew noticed an “unusual vibration” early in the flight that they had not experienced before. The plane had departed the Mexican resort city of San José del Cabo on its way to Austin, and it was determined that they could proceed to their final destination after discussing it with staff at NetsJet, the company that operated the jet.
As the jet approached the U.S.-Mexico border, the flight crew received a message indicating low fuel pressure, followed by more messages, and the crew declared an emergency.
The flight crew reported a generator failure and “multiple other failures” to Houston air traffic controllers, such as “fuel level low,” and requested to divert to Laredo International Airport, according to the report. The jet was cleared but while it was on its final approach, the right engine “flamed out,” followed by the left engine moments later.
Video footage showed “two instances of fire flaring up around the airplane as it was on final approach,” the report states.
A pilot asked the Laredo air traffic control tower if there was a field to their right and an air traffic controller replied that there was not. After the pilot again asked about open area to their right, an air traffic controller replied, “It’s just going to be the main highway, and that’s just about it.”
The flight crew “maneuvered the airplane to touch down” on the highway about one mile (1.6 kilometers) southeast of the airport. As the jet touched down, it “sheared off several light poles,” struck a vehicle and ended up straddling the edge of an overpass with the main cabin exit door “oriented upward.” The main cabin door was eventually opened and five people escaped.
The fiery crash in Laredo near the Mexican border had sent bystanders racing from their cars to help police rescue passengers and crew from the burning aircraft. Video from the frantic scene showed someone trying to smash the cockpit glass with a sledgehammer, while others used makeshift levers as they worked to open the plane’s door. Local officials said a firefighter entered the smoke-filled jet to extract one person still inside after the rest had escaped. The jet “sustained substantial damage” to its fuselage, both wings, and the tail, according to the NTSB report.
Two pilots and three teenagers survived the crash and were released from the hospital, according to the Laredo Police Department. A dog on board suffered smoke inhalation and was also expected to survive, Jose Baeza, an investigator with the police department, said in June.
The crash killed Joshua Baer, a leader in Texas’ technology and startup sectors.
