Incident Overview
On April 15, 2021, at approximately 1030 central daylight time, a Gates Learjet Corp. 35A (registration N354EF) was substantially damaged during a landing accident near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The two pilots and two crew members on board were not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight.
Flight Details
The aircraft departed from Centennial Airport (APA) in Denver, Colorado, for a short positioning flight to Colorado Springs Airport (COS). After departure, air traffic control provided vectors for the crew to intercept the GPS approach for runway 17R at COS.
According to the first officer, who was initially the pilot flying, the airplane exited an overcast cloud layer at an altitude of 650 to 700 feet above ground level. At that point, the first officer visually acquired the airport but realized the airplane was offset about half a mile to the right of the runway centerline.
The captain requested control of the aircraft and made a course correction to align with the runway centerline, about 1.5 to 2 miles from the threshold. At approximately 100 feet above the ground, the captain reduced the throttles to idle, established the centerline, and continued the descent for landing.
The Accident Sequence
As the airplane descended through 10 to 20 feet above the runway, the stick shaker activated. The first officer, who was monitoring, announced "stall," and the captain advanced both throttles. Just before touchdown, the airplane experienced an uncommanded roll to the right and the nose dropped. The captain applied left aileron in an attempt to arrest the roll, but the airplane did not respond in time. The right wing fuel tip tank struck the runway surface just before the landing gear contacted the runway. The crew maintained control throughout the landing roll and taxied the airplane off the runway. The right wing sustained substantial damage.
Operator Statement and Company Procedures
The operator stated that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane. The company operations manual outlined stabilized approach criteria, including that a stabilized approach must be established before descending below 500 feet above the airport elevation during visual approaches. It also specified that the airplane should touch down within the first one-third of the available landing distance, and if that was not assured, a rejected landing must be executed.
The Flight Safety Foundation Approach and Landing Accident Reduction Briefing Note referenced in the source listed deviations in unstabilized approaches, such as excessive speed, not being aligned with the runway, excessive bank angle, excessive vertical speed, or flight path above glideslope. It also noted that one behavior observed when unstabilized approaches are continued is excessive confidence in a quick recovery by postponing the go-around decision when flight parameters are exceeded.