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January 28, 2024 · Honda Aircraft HA-420 NO Series · N103JT

Orlando, FL

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
January 28, 2024
Injury Outcomes
No injuries (4 uninjured)
Location
Orlando, FL
Aircraft
Honda Aircraft HA-420 NO Series (2019)
Tail Number
N103JT
Operator
Gc Aviation
Injuries
None
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
NTSB Number
ERA24LA100

On January 28, 2024, about 1623 eastern standard time, a Honda Aircraft Company LLC HA-420, N103JT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida. The airline transport pilot, commercial co-pilot, and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand passenger flight. The left seat pilot, who was the pilot flying (PF), reported that when the flight was about 1 hour 15 minutes from MCO, the pilot monitoring (PM) checked the automated terminal information service which advised that the wind was from 270° at 14 knots, gusting to 24 knots. After reviewing the runway configuration at MCO they determined the gust value was beyond limits of the airplane, but they then reviewed the operator’s crosswind performance limits (CPL) and determined it was acceptable to continue to the planned destination. The PF planned to obtain a wind check on final approach at MCO, and if the wind was out of limits the flight would proceed to Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida, which had a more favorable runway configuration. The PF and PM briefed the arrival and while approaching MCO they checked the automated weather observing system (AWOS) several times. They noted only one instance of wind gusts reported, and that the AWOS was mostly reporting wind from 270° to 280° at 13 or 14 knots. The flight continued and was cleared for a visual approach. The PM requested a wind check and the local controller replied 290° at 21 knots. The PF recalled their previous review of the CPL and noted the wind was at the 19 to 20 knots crosswind component, but then referenced the wind vector on the primary flight display (PFD) and noted an 18-knot crosswind component. The PF elected to continue the approach to runway 36L as the wind was “within limits.” He referenced the wind vector on the PFD a final time as the flight crossed the threshold and noted the crosswind was 17 knots. The flight landed on the runway centerline in the touchdown zone and the PF applied left aileron control input to counter the crosswind and deployed the speedbrake. The airplane began drifting left, which the PF attempted to correct with right rudder input but with no effect. The airplane departed the left side of the runway surface, rolled onto grass, and impacted a runway distance remaining sign. The PF was then able to correct to the right, travel back onto the runway, then taxi off the runway at taxiway E and stop where the airplane was secured and then evacuated. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audio communications from the MCO air traffic control tower local west position, at the initial contact with the local controller about 1620, the flight crew were advised the wind was from 290° at 21 knots. At 1622:06, a voice from an unidentified aircraft asked for a wind check on the same frequency, and the controller responded 290° at 19 knots “now gusting two four” knots. At 1622:06, the accident airplane was about 1.24 nautical miles from the runway 36L threshold. After the accident the flight crew was asked by the controller if they experienced a flat tire, a flight crew member responded, “negative, we’re not sure, it could have been a gust, but ah we’re not sure.” The operator reported there was no airplane or airplane system’s warnings or malfunctions before touchdown. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector and a representative of the airplane manufacturer revealed no evidence of any failures or malfunctions of the primary or secondary flight controls. The rudder and aileron trims had been set at the neutral position. According to the airplane manufacturer, the left wing forward spar exhibited cracks and deformation. The airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder which were retained for read-out. The airplane flight manual specified the crosswind limitation as 20 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause

The failure of the pilot flying to maintain directional control after touchdown with wind gusts that exceeded the airplane’s crosswind limitation. Contributing to the accident were the flightcrew’s continued approach to the runway despite the consistent wind gust crosswind component that exceeded the airplane’s published crosswind limitation, and their incorrect wind gust crosswind calculation in flight.

Full Narrative

On January 28, 2024, about 1623 eastern standard time, a Honda Aircraft Company LLC HA-420 airplane, N103JT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida. The airline transport pilot, commercial co-pilot, and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand passenger flight. The left-seat pilot was the PF. According to the CVR recording, about 1 hour 22 minutes before landing, about 1501, the flight crew reviewed the MCO ATIS, which indicated the wind was from 270° at 14 kts, gusting to 24 kts. The CVR recorded the crew discussing the crosswind component associated with the reported winds, the airplane’s operating limitations, and company procedures. They noted that a runway at a nearby airport, Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), was more aligned with the reported wind direction. The PM asked the passengers whether they had a car waiting for them at MCO, and commented to the PF about arranging transportation for the passengers from ORL to MCO. About 1556, the crew obtained ATIS information Victor for MCO that reported the wind from 260° at 16 kts, gusting to 23 kts. The airplane continued toward MCO. About 1607, when the airplane was about 39 nm northwest of MCO, the crew discussed wind information from the ASOS at MCO. The PF stated that he checked the ASOS four times in the prior 20 minutes and only one report mentioned gusts. He added that the wind speed was reported to be 13 to 14 kts and the wind currently was from 270° at 13 kts. The PF also said they would ask for a wind check when the airplane was on final approach. The airplane continued into the downwind, base, and final approach legs of the airport traffic pattern. At 1619:57, a crew member contacted the MCO air traffic control tower and advised the controller that the airplane was 2 miles from the final approach fix for runway 36L. The controller advised the crew that the wind was from 290° at 21 kts and cleared the airplane to land; the CVR recorded the crew calculating a crosswind component of 19 kts. At 1622:06, when the flight was 1.2 nm from the approach end of runway 36L, a crew member of another airplane requested a wind check and the controller advised 290° at 19 kts, “…now gusting two four.” The CVR recorded both crew members of the accident airplane state that the calculated crosswind component was 19 kts. Figure 1 shows the wind data referenced by the crew before touchdown. Figure 1. Wind data referenced by the crew before touchdown The PF continued the approach to runway 36L with a wind recorded on the flight data recorder from 286° true at 19 kts, although there was no recorded parameter for wind gusts. At about the time the airplane touched down, which occurred at 1622:54, the controller broadcast on the frequency for another airplane that was on a visual approach to runway 36L that the wind was from 290° at 20 kts with gusts of 24 kts. After the accident airplane touched down, the PF applied left aileron control input to counter the crosswind and deployed the speedbrake. The airplane began drifting left, which the PF attempted to correct with right rudder input but with no effect. The airplane departed the left side of the runway surface, rolled onto the grass, and about 1623 impacted a runway distance remaining sign. The PF was then able to correct to the right, travel back onto the runway, and then taxi off the runway at taxiway E where he stopped the airplane. The airplane was secured and then evacuated. The controller asked the crew if they experienced a flat tire, and a crew member responded, “Negative, we’re not sure, it could have been a gust, but uh we’re not sure.” The rudder position for the crosswind approach and when the nose landing gear contacted the runway could not be determined because weight-on-wheels and rudder input were not recorded parameters on the flight data recorder. The operator reported there were no mechanical irregularities with the airplane during the flight and landing. The airplane flight manual (AFM) specified the crosswind limitation for the accident airplane as 20 kts. The operator’s flight operations training guidance to crews related to crosswind landings indicated that “gust limits” are not discussed in the AFM and are assumed to be 20 kts as well. The guidance further provided charts for documenting the crosswind and wind gust components based on runway width. Using the wind component chart, based on the reported steady-state wind being 70° from the runway heading to the left at 20 kts, the crosswind component was 19 kts. Using the same guidance, the gust crosswind component was calculated to be about 23 kts. Utilizing the same training document and the runway width of 100 ft, which was the maximum runway width specified on the chart, the maximum acceptable crosswind and gust components were each 20 kts. Verbiage on the document specified that if the provided wind from a “wind check” was beyond the crosswind limits, “You must wait for the next wind check.” Postaccident, the operator developed “Go/No-Go winds criteria” that specified, “If any authorized weather report for a flight shows that, within the estimated time of arrival, the crosswind component will be out of the below limits,” then “…the flight shall NOT proceed to that destination airport.” Postaccident examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector and a representative of the airplane manufacturer revealed no evidence of any failures or malfunctions of the primary or secondary flight controls. The rudder and aileron trims were observed in the neutral position. The airplane manufacturer reported that the left wing’s forward spar exhibited cracks and deformation; that damage was substantial. Although all tires exhibited scuffing, none were deflated. Review of the impacted runway distance remaining sign revealed that all three aluminum posts were frangible incorporating a reduced circumference area. The center and western mounted posts did not fracture at the reduced circumference area but the corresponding mounts were fractured, while the eastern mount was not fractured but the post was fractured at the reduced circumference area. The 5-minute ASOS weather observations at MCO between 1500 and 1605 were reviewed. The last of these observations was about 2 minutes after the PF advised that he checked the ASOS and reported the wind was from 270° at 13 kts there was one observation in which the wind direction and steady state wind velocity partially matched the PF’s comments. That observation occurred at 1600, within the time frame specified by the PF; that observation also reported that gusts were at 24 kts, which the PF did not state. Additionally, wind gusts were reported in all but 2 of the 14 observations. Figure 2 shows the ASOS observations between 1500 and when the airplane touched down. Figure 2. ASOS observations between 1500 and when the airplane touched down.

Flight

Event TypeAccident
Event Time16:23 EST
Nearest AirportOrlando International Airport (1nm WSW)
Runway36L
Runway Length12004 ft
Runway Width200 ft
Flight Plan FiledIFR
Flight Plan ActivatedYes
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftHonda Aircraft HA-420 NO Series
Tail NumberN103JT
Aircraft CategoryAir
DamageSubstantial
OperatorGc Aviation
Operating RulePart 135
Engines2
Engine TypeTurbojet
Engine DetailsGeneral Electric · HF-120 · Turbojet · 1997 | General Electric · HF-120 · Turbojet · 1997
Seats7

People & Injuries

Injury SummaryNo injuries (4 uninjured)
Fatal0
Serious0
Minor0
Uninjured4
Total4
Crew 1Age 56 · First Class · None
Crew 2Age 43 · First Class · None

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
Wind270° @ 16 kt, gusting 23 kt
Visibility9 sm
CeilingNone
Temperature / Dew Point70 F / 48 F
Altimeter29.98 inHg
Observation Time16:20
Weather SourceWFAC

Appendix: Source Data