4 fatal · GATES LEARJET CORPORATION 35A · 2021-12-28 · El Cajon, CA, USA
Event
NTSB number
WPR22FA068
Event ID
20211228104445
Type
Accident
Date
2021-12-28
Location
El Cajon, CA, USA
Coordinates
32.821182, -116.93942
Injuries
Highest injury
FATL
Fatal
4
Serious
0
Minor
0
Uninjured
0
Total aboard
4
Aircraft
Make
GATES LEARJET CORPORATION
Model
35A
Registration
N880Z
FAR Part
091
Engines
2
Damage
DEST
Conditions
Light
NITE
Weather
VMC
Probable cause
The flight crew’s decision to descend below the published MDA, cancel their IFR clearance to conduct an unauthorized circle-to-land approach to another runway while the airport was in nighttime IFR conditions, and the exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, and subsequently entering an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the tower crew’s failure to monitor and augment the airport weather conditions as required, due in part to, the placement of the AWOS display in the tower cab and the lack of audible AWOS alerting.