Incident
On June 4, 2007, about 1600 central daylight time, a Cessna Citation 550, registration N550BP, impacted Lake Michigan shortly after departure from General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The aircraft was operated by Marlin Air under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. It had departed MKE around 1557, destined for Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan. The two pilots and four passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed.
Weather and Flight Conditions
At the time of the accident, marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the surface, while instrument meteorological conditions prevailed aloft. The flight operated under an instrument flight rules flight plan.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the accident to be the pilots’ mismanagement of an abnormal flight control situation through improper actions, including failing to control airspeed and to prioritize control of the airplane, and lack of crew coordination. Contributing to the accident were Marlin Air’s operational safety deficiencies, including the inadequate checkrides administered by Marlin Air’s chief pilot/check airman, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to detect and correct those deficiencies, which placed a pilot who inadequately emphasized safety in the position of company chief pilot and designated check airman and placed an ill-prepared pilot in the first officer’s seat.