Flight Preparation
Before departure on a maintenance repositioning flight, the captain discussed with the first officer an uneven fuel balance that could be "fix[ed]" once airborne. The captain also noted a restriction to 25,000 feet due to an inoperative air conditioning/pressurization pack, described the right pack as "misbehaving", and mentioned a bleed valve failure warning. The captain stated that they would abort for everything below 80 knots except for a bleed shutoff valve. The captain and the airplane owner's director of maintenance were aware of several mechanical discrepancies before the flight; the captain advised the first officer that the flight was for "routine maintenance" but that the airplane was airworthy. During preflight, the first officer found "reddish clay" in one of the pitot tubes and removed it. A mechanic and the captain examined that pitot tube and determined it was not obstructed.
Takeoff and Abort Sequence
During the takeoff roll, a single chime was heard, and the first officer reported a bleed valve fail message. The captain responded, "ignore it." Another chime followed, and the first officer reported "lateral mode fail, pusher fail." The captain asked about airspeed and was advised of an "indicated airspeed miscompare." Approximately 13 seconds after the second chime, the captain initiated the aborted takeoff. The crew was unable to stop the airplane; it went off the end of the runway and impacted obstructions and terrain. According to the flight data recorder, the peak groundspeed was 152 knots, and at the time the abort was initiated, the indicated airspeed was 78.5 knots.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination revealed that the captain's pitot tube was partially blocked with an insect nest. Examination of the airplane and its maintenance log showed that no discrepancies were entered in the log, and no placards or "inoperative" decals were affixed in the cockpit.