Accident Case Study: Just a Short Flight 

“Not prone to using checklists”. No more needs to be said. Instant red flag

Normally you wonder "what did they do wrong?" On this flight "What did they do right?" would be a shorter list.

Someone should have shared this little quote with those two in flight school: "If it's not right... Go around. It's better to explain why you did it... than for others to find out why you didn't."

I can't believe you would even attempt an approach that close. That is _insane._

Kinda terrifying that guys like this are permitted to fly.

I didn’t think that it was possible to cram so many mistakes into so little time. Good grief.

This sounded like two teenagers driving in dads muscle car on a Friday night, not operating a jet in busy airspace. Good thing they didn't take any innocent people with them. As I'm writing this I have a clear view out my window of planes making this exact approach into KTEB. It's unfortunate this happened.

"The co-pilot had been rated 'Zero' thus relegating him to Ballast Status."

These guys should never have been in the cockpit.

I want to share something with you guys. I read the whole NTSB report, including every interview they did. The Van der Veld party who chartered the plane, was actually supposed to fly this final route. However, the flying and previous last landing with this group on board was so bad that the one brother refused to get back on that plane for the return flight north, and they told the pilots to go ahead without them, and the party rented a vehicle and drove themselves back. So this only turned into a positioning flight at the last minute. The PM even forgot this when he tried to file a flight plan to Teterboro that had them climbing to 27k feet. What’s even more of a travesty, is also in reading the interviews, you get to read how these two guys fell thru the cracks of the system, especially the younger pilot. This is essentially the same issue that just happened with the Atlas Air/Amazon cargo plane crash. The Jr pilot there shouldn’t of been anywhere near a cockpit either and slipped thru the regulatory cracks.

Jeeez! These guys were so far behind the airplane that I’m surprised they were in the wreckage.

A Captain who should’ve been an FO and an FO who should’ve been working at McDonald’s.

Good example of being about 2 days behind the aircraft. What a mess.

I’m going to make this a separate post to explain why there were no passengers. There had been the Van der Velde group that had been picked up and taken to PHL and were supposed to fly back later after a golf outing. This is the NTSB interview summary for Murphy, one of the Van der Velde brothers: “He said the landing was one of the scariest he had ever experienced. As the front came through PHL, there as pretty strong winds behind it and the weather was moving through pretty fast. He had flown into PHL before and they always landed on a different runway than the big jets used. This runway was shorter. The wind was from the west and they were landing more to the northwest. When they were about 5 or 6 feet off the ground, the plane felt like it fishtailed as if it was a car on ice. The tail fishtailed so much he thought at one point they were going to land at 90 degrees to the runway. His brother sitting next to him grabbed his hand on the armrest and was like “holy cow, what the hell was that.” They landed and then got off the plane. They went into the bathroom, getting ready to get in the car, and his brother looked at him and said, “I don’t want to fly on that plane anymore.” They both looked at each other and said “let’s drive up to TEB.” They did not want to have to go through that again since it was unnerving. They told the pilots they were just going to get in the car, go play in this golf tournament and then drive up to NJ and “you guys do what you gotta do.” An hour or two later he saw on one of the news apps that said a small plane crashed in northern New Jersey. That night his brother said to turn the news in New York and they saw the red tail of a plane embedded in a hangar or warehouse outside a runway and they knew the tail number and learned that it was the airplane they had been on.

The lack of situational awareness was clear when the pilot said he’ll cross a waypoint at 200 feet

You know, I increasingly feel that humility is the greatest virtue in the cockpit.

Title should read: "Learjet murdered by idiots."

Humble, be humble and critisize yourself frequently.

3:28....let that marinate. "Did not know how to start the engines". Hmmmmmmmm....maybe flying isn't for you. Driving may be questionable.

The Captain didn’t lose once situation awareness on final approach - he never had to begin with!

SIC rated 0 and not allowed to fly, and initially failed his PPL twice?? Yeah, some people just aren't cut out for this job.

Probable cause: FWS Flying while stupid.

Even as a non-pilot, watching and listening to these incidents unfold is gut wrenching. It wasn't just one or two mistakes that started a chain reaction, these guys were actively digging their grave with every passing moment.

On an 80nm flight, the PIC thought they were "hundreds of miles" from their destination?

These guys were seriously lost in space. No briefing, violation of procedures and practically zero SA. They were just along for the ride.

As a low hour private student pilot I have a recurring dream/nightmare that I just show up at the airport, hop in the plane, and take off into IMC and only then realize that I'm not at all competent to do so. That's what watching this video reminded me of.

There is more to being a good pilot than quantity of hours

I was two planes behind these guys on the Jaike arrival that day. Gotham was in front of us. The accident aircraft missed and messed up several calls. I definitely remember him reading back the Dandy cross incorrectly. We were both kind of wondering what was up with them. We were both surprised to hear they had not switched to tower despite being handed off several moments earlier. We were switched to tower in time to hear them call to the accident aircraft twice and then hastily close the airport with a quivering voice. It was at that point I looked up and saw the plume of smoke. We were approaching Dandy and I immediately felt sick, knowing what had just happened. (We got missed instructions and took vectors to EWR.)

Another chilling report. I guess the only positive outcome was no ground casualties.

This is a great review of a sad situation. These case studies are just invaluable. Thank you ASI! For helping the rest of us avoid the mistakes of others. It all starts with awareness and nobody does this better than you. Thank you.

Flight should have been terminated when the flight plan was filed for FL270 for a hundred mile trip. Might have been the first clue someone was not up to the challenge....

I talked to my dad about this. My dad has thousands of hours in Lears, going back to the mid 1960s. He says that Learjet can get snotty if you don’t handle them correctly but they are an absolute dream to fly! And that basically these guys did pretty much everything wrong that you could do in one flight.

I can’t believe there is an FAA standard where someone can be Typed in an aircraft but NOT be rated to actually fly it...

What is most worrying is the fact that the SIC is a holder of a Commercial License when he is incapable of basic flight manouvres.

This gives new meaning to the old cliche "Where did you get your license, out of a box of Cracker Jack?" These guys shouldn't have had a license to fly a kite. Great impartial analysis though.

Captain is lazy, prone to errors, and, sloppy. Co pilot is a 0/4 rated "hit or miss" seat holder who fails checkrides... Employer: here's a jet to fly!

Well as sad as it is I can’t help thinking that this was the best of a bad bunch of outcomes that could quite easy of happened with these two at the controls.

I couldn’t watch the whole thing. It was like listening to a train wreck in slow motion.

DIdn't know a Learjet had the space for all the balls these guys dropped.

Each episode higher in production quality. Every incident just as tragic. I do not enjoy one second even learning that these underskilled pilots no longer have an opportunity to improve, having hit a violent end to the road. But you deconstruct every accident in one half the time Mayday does, with twice the detail and four times the applicability for anyone who is, or will soon be, a pilot. Your lessons should bring us all to honor these airmen's memories in our everyday lives, as well as behind the tillers of our boats and cars, and the yokes of our aircraft, by understanding that we, too, are human, and we're prone to erroneous judgment, so we must incorporate the lessons these people could not, and ensure that we, as the weakest link, avoid becoming the break in the chain.

“AIR-ROR & AIR-ROGANCE”... This is a perfect pilot example of what not to follow.

The captain was unwilling to admit that they where behind the aircraft and could have just asked for vectors to get out of the system to figure it out. I also question at what point does ATC just have to say, these guys aren't getting it. Turn them away until they are ready. They had to correct them several times and when they were that close to the airport and failed to circle, maybe they should have just called the go around for them. Before you jump on me about the PIC having the authority, I get that. I'm just talking about giving ATC the power to say, "You can't do it safely, go around." If a pilot is given that instruction because they didn't circle when told to do so, THEY screwed up and will remember next time - YOU CIRCLE AT TORBY, not after. Their ego may be bruised, but they will live to complain about it.

Attempted low altitude acrobatic turns on final? Disaster waiting to happen with this captain. Thank God for no passengers.

Did they just suddenly forget they were flying a plane...........badly?

Embarrassing for their families.

I remember seeing all the CCTV footage from various cameras of this accident. It gave me nightmares, and it's scary to think that once you're on a path to death your whole life can end that quickly. There's no stopping it and saying "let me try again." This shows that an accident is hardly ever just an accident, but a series of really bad decisions that add up to greatly increase your probability of getting killed.

Going relatively slow in a C-172 you can make a correction a mile or two from the runway but in a Learjet you have to be so much further ahead of the aircraft. All the other mistakes could have been negated with recognizing there was no way to recovery this approach and a go around was in order.

FAA Part 91 and 135 is scary in the US. I do my simulator training there and the instructors-mostly retired airline (Part 121) guys-are consistently impressed with our briefings, SOPs, and emergencies/abnormalities. They rarely see that level of proficiency outside of the airlines. After seeing stuff like this.... I can see why.

Captain was way too cocky and at the end paid for it by taking 2 lives.

Easy to criticize the pilots. Common response. Understood. And valid. IMHO though, the culture that put these pilots in the cockpit must receive some of the flak also. Someone (DO, Chief Pilot, Scheduling) needed this reposition, approved this pairing, deemed this an acceptable risk and pushed out this flight. These fellow aviators did not wish to end up a statistic. Taking entry level position for low pay, commuting, fatigue, crash pads filled with snoring, desperate to prove yourself..... Hard to say no to a situation that may be unsafe when hungry for flight hours and literally hungry. Crews take these assignments daily without complaint. Rarely is there a culture in place that allows someone to say no to a flight when not comfortable. You risk your status, employment, self esteem. So suck it up and roll with it..... often with horrifying consequences. My condolences to their loved ones.

I'm surprised the employer was so negligent with vetting pilots. I imagine there was a fight with the insurer as they ignored due diligence.

Taking turns like a fighter jet. Unbelievable. I can only imagine the faces of the people in the tower.

Too many 135 operation pilots have a cavalier attitude like this, but this one takes the cake. Neither's airmanship was adequate for L-35 ops. I wouldn't let them fly my Merlin with these attitudes or capabilities. This is worse than initially told as I recall. I agree they both chose the wrong profession.

This absolutely makes the hair rise on the back of my neck, just imagining other lives that could have been sacrificed in the air & or on the ground w/the incompetent PIC! SMDH...

How about transfer on a 90° pitch? " hey , you better take control now ." 2000 feet above the ground no less !

This is literally my favorite RU-vid channel now. I don't really like flying or find it interesting -- but your voice and analysis are both top tier. The scripts are so well written and clear.

Wondering when they planned to lower the gear. What a train wreck.

These accident case studies are always riveting, even if in a dour way.

One of the best breakdowns of an accident I’ve ever listened to. My first 50 hours of flying was out of Teterboro and I never soloed. I was lucky to be able to steer it on the ground, follow all the instructions that the airport throws at you and just lining up and waiting sometimes took 30 minutes of your Hobbs meter. Eventually broke out of this airport and went to Sussex airport… And within two hours I was soloing. My brain can’t handle all that radio chatter and fly… Again thanks for the breakdown. Great job.

This was basically a training flight for the SIC. Unfortunately his teacher was incompetent.

Jesus all those mistakes and they still would've been alive if they just chose to go around....

These guys shouldn’t even be driving a Honda Accord.

It's so tragic that we lost such a beautiful jet aircraft.

As someone training for my pilots license I ignored these videos out of fear, but now I am addicted as I realized quickly these are some of the greatest lessons I will ever get. Sucks it's at the expense of all these people as so many are avoidable but such is life.

So many mistakes! Ask to go around if it is not going right! Don't ever do last minute panic maneuvers to satisfy the control tower when there are issues you are having. These last minute decisions by PIC led to their death. PIC needed to pay attention to tower and not be coaching Co-Pilot. Radical turn maneuvers, to close to the ground, and attempting to stay above stall in those movers is deadly! Always remember stall speed increases in tight turns. If the approach is not going well do a missed approach, go around!

Glad to see more accident case study videos. I love these, there is so much to learn about what not to do.

I'm surprised they didn't find the PIC intoxicated or similar judging by his cavalier attitude - particularly while the SIC was clearly showing signs of stress...but then maybe hard to determine after your flight ends in a fireball.

These two were already behind the aircraft before it even took off in Philly.

That flight was a cluster #### before they even began engine start procedures. Sad for the pilots families, but glad there were no other fatalities.

Why didnt the captain respond the first time when the guy who wasnt even allowed the fly got nervous and wanted to give up control? ...why was he even coaching the guy in the first place?

I am not sure if anything was preformed correctly on this flight. Whatever company these guys flew with should be shutdown for allowing to let pilots of this skill level be at the controls.

Imagine being a passenger on one of their earlier runs that day and now seeing how poorly they handled that last flight!

From a former airline pilot and Civil Air Patrol instructor, thank you for a first rate video .......Proof again, a pilot's license if just a piece of plastic/paper... Any instructor that has conducted check-outs of would be renters, or even stage checks, will agree.

Goddamn, I wouldn’t let that sort of environment exist in the cab of my pickup truck, nevermind the cockpit of a jet aircraft.

Amazed they didn’t kill anyone on the ground.

This was the most infuriating aviation video I’ve ever seen. I’m glad No passengers were murdered.

That PIC must have been suicidal. Such a blatant disregard...the entire flight.

Finally a new video!

"Dandy at 200 feet" lol

When you see this kind of thing happening in a commercial environment, there are several things to remember: 1) training to proficiency is not cheap It costs a LOT of money. Some companies rely on the willingness AND the ability of the PIC to instruct the FO instead of sending the FO to "real" training, which was the case in this flight as well. 2) Companies do not want to spend money. The chief pilot knows exactly how much it costs them for each tenth on the Hobbs meter, and he is happy to tell you about it if he thinks you allowed too much time to elapse for a flight, which is why these two pilots wanted "higher" and "faster." It's money. As far as being Captain material, if you are a PIC in the regs, you are a PIC for them. 3) Training and proficiency are often insufficient for reliable, safe flying. In order for these companies to keep the pilots that do become proficient (as in them not leaving for a wide body 121 job) they would have to pay them more money, which they will not do. After all, there is another guy right behind them who is hungry for PIC and turbine time. For decades now, this situation has been treated as being acceptable. I refused to remain a part of it.

Don’t ever allow two problematic pilots to fly together. One should be near spotless.

The people at the NTSB who first listened to the cockpit voice recorder must of been shaking their heads in disbelief.

Situational awareness is a mistress that will NOT be ignored.

"Never point an airplane anywhere your mind wasn't 5 minutes ago".

Love this channel so much and narrator does such a great job

What the hell? I didn't know giving a licence to a pilot who is so poorly proficient that he literally isn't allowed to fly was a thing. What kind of company hires a pilot who isn't allowed to fly?

Wow, finally I have been waiting so long for you guy's to make more "Accident Case Study" episodes. Thank you so much.

I'm 50 seconds in, and already reminded of Pinnacle 3701.

Absolutely amazing video! This is my favorite series on the entire site. You guys really outdo yourselves every time

As always an excellent decomposition, illustration, and discussing of salient lessens learned by ASI from these events. These case studies are a tremendous resource. Keep them coming!

Thank you very much for posting it on RU-vid. Keep them coming. Incredible stuff to watch.

These pilots swore like sailors on a sugar high. And once they missed the last checkpoint, I instinctively knew that there wasn't enough place to turn and land on the other runway ...

Your videos are always top notch! Thank you for doing this case study!

So happy to see another case study video. You guys do such a great job with these. Please to try publish a new vid at least once a month.

Thank you ASI so much for making another one of these videos! They are so interesting and educational, especially to people in flight training who plan to fly professionally. Please keep them coming!

Thank you for publishing these. I have watch all of this series multiple times. I'm not a pilot, but some of the behaviors and other problems are applicable to my job. Please continue to make these!

These are invaluable, interesting and well-made videos. Thank you so much!

Does anyone else find these videos weirdly relaxing?

love these case studies, keep em coming. A lot of new incidents to do an episodes on.

Be directive instead of descriptive. "Add power. Roll out. Go around go around go around".