History of Flight
On January 5, 2014, at 1222 mountain standard time, a Bombardier (formerly Canadair) CL-600-2B16 Challenger, registration N115WF, impacted the runway during a landing attempt on Runway 15 at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport/Sardy Field (ASE), Aspen, Colorado. The copilot was fatally injured; the captain and a passenger received serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed. The aircraft was registered to the Bank of Utah Trustee and operated by Vineland Corporation Company, Panama, under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight departed Tucson International Airport, Arizona, at 1004.
The departure and en route portions were uneventful. As the flight approached ASE, air traffic control provided vectors for a localizer/DME approach to Runway 15. At 1210:04, the local controller informed the crew that winds were from 290° at 19 knots gusting to 25 knots. At 1211:18, the crew reported a missed approach and requested vectors for a second attempt. ATC vectored the aircraft for a second LOC/DME-E approach. At 1220:35, the local controller reported winds from 330° at 16 knots, with a 1-minute average from 320° at 14 knots gusting to 25 knots, and cleared the flight to land.
Airport surveillance video showed the airplane above the runway in a slightly nose-down attitude, a flash of light consistent with a runway strike, the airplane airborne again, and then impacting the runway in a nose-down attitude and becoming engulfed in light. About 4 seconds elapsed between the runway strike and final impact. The airplane came to rest inverted on the west side of Runway 15, between taxiways A5 and A6. Airport operations and ARFF responded immediately.
Personnel Information
The captain, age 52, was a Mexican citizen holding a Mexican air transport pilot certificate with an Airbus-320 type rating and an FAA temporary commercial pilot certificate issued November 9, 2013, with a CL-600 type rating. The certificate lacked a pilot-in-command limitation for the CL-600 that should have been included. He had about 12-14 hours of CL-601 flight time, including training, and approximately 17,000 total flight hours. The captain held a first-class medical certificate dated August 27, 2013, with a near vision limitation.
The copilot, age 54, was a Mexican citizen with a Mexican air transport pilot certificate and an FAA temporary commercial pilot certificate issued November 14, 2013, with a CL-600 type rating and a pilot-in-command limitation for the CL-600 requiring 25 hours with a qualified pilot. He reported 20,398 total flight hours. His medical certificate, issued December 13, 2012, was limited to third-class at the time of the accident due to expiration. Both pilots had completed CL-600 training at Simuflight; the copilot initially received an unsatisfactory rating but passed a re-test.
A pilot-rated passenger, age 52, also a Mexican citizen, held an FAA commercial pilot certificate based on his Mexican license, without a CL-600 type rating. According to the captain, the passenger was an experienced CL-601 pilot invited to provide recommendations due to the special conditions at ASE. He occupied the flight deck jumpseat.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 601-3R variant, serial number 5153, manufactured in 1994. It was powered by two General Electric CF34-3A1 turbofan engines. The most recent inspection was completed December 18, 2013, at 6,750 hours airframe total time. The Airplane Flight Manual specified a maximum tailwind component of 10 knots for takeoff and landing.
Meteorological Information
Weather observations at ASE indicated IFR conditions with light snow in the morning, becoming VFR by the accident time. Winds increased before arrival, with gusts to 28 knots. The ASOS at 1220 reported wind from 320° at 14 knots gusting to 25 knots, visibility 10 miles in haze, scattered clouds at 4,700 ft, broken ceiling at 6,000 ft. The 1-minute wind data from 1218 to 1222 showed tailwinds ranging from 17 to 24 knots. A pilot report from a Learjet 35 at 1205 indicated low-level wind shear with a 10-knot airspeed loss on final. The accident airplane's receipt of that report is undetermined.
Communications
ATC communications were recorded. During the first approach, the crew acknowledged wind and a wind shear advisory, then reported a missed approach due to 33 knots of tailwind. On the second approach, the local controller again cleared the flight to land after providing wind information. At 1222:04, the controller instructed a go-around, but the accident occurred at that time.
Airport Information
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is a certificated Part 139 airport at elevation 7,838 ft, with a single runway 15/33, 8,006 ft long and 100 ft wide. A NOTAM effective at 0609 stated the runway was snow swept 75-feet wide. Runway friction measurements after the accident showed an average friction of 1.087 mu, well above the minimum of 0.50 mu.
Flight Recorders
The flight data recorder (FDR) captured the accident flight. After a missed approach, the aircraft began final descent at 1219:45. The autopilot was disengaged at 1220:09. Flaps increased to 44° at 1220:43. Engine N1 speeds varied between 75% and 42% in the final 56 seconds. Pitch angle oscillated between +4.3° and -5.2°, with a vertical acceleration peak of 2.91 g at 1222:06. Over the final 16 seconds, pitch varied between +24.7° and -13.1°, with vertical acceleration reaching 5.76 g and -1.46 g.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) captured conversations in Spanish. During the first approach, crew discussed being too high and FMS usage. Cell phone interference and a WhatsApp alert were noted. The passenger provided guidance on VNAV and flap settings. In the final moments, the crew struggled with altitude and localizer interception. The controller's go-around call was transmitted just before impact.
Probable Cause
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