Passengers 3 Registration HZ-IBN Total fatalities 4 (all) Crew count 1 | Operator Salem Aviation Date 31 July 2015 Passenger count 3 | |
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Summary Pilot error, runway overrun Aircraft type Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 Similar 2015 Moncks Corner mi, 2015 Eglin Air Force Base heli, 2015 Juba An‑12 crash, Ceiba Intercontinental Airlines Fl, 2015 Los Llanos Air Base crash | ||
At 15:00 BST on 31 July 2015, an Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 light business jet crashed into a car auction site on the property of Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, United Kingdom, killing all four people on board. The three passengers were members of the bin Laden family.
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During the approach and landing, the sole pilot experienced a high workload, overshot the runway during the landing attempt, and ended up in the adjacaent car park.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was an Embraer Phenom 300 light business jet manufactured in 2010, serial number 50500040 and registered in Saudi Arabia as HZ-IBN. The plane was owned by Salem Aviation of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which was the aircraft's first owner. Salem Aviation is owned by the bin Laden family.
Flight
At the time of the crash, the aircraft was on a flight from Milan Malpensa Airport to Blackbushe Airport with three passengers, all Saudi nationals, and one crew member, the pilot (a Jordanian), on board. The passengers were Rajaa Hashim, one of the wives of Osama bin Laden's father Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (who had died in an aircraft crash in the 1960s), as well as her daughter Sana Hashim and Sana's husband Zuhair Hashim. The aircraft involved had no prior incidents; and weather conditions for the approach into Blackbushe Airport were warm and sunny, with very good visibility and winds from the south.
Crash
While in the landing circuit, the pilot had to climb the jet after receiving a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) advisory message as it overtook a microlight aircraft also in the circuit to land at Blackbushe. Six times during the Phenom's final approach, the terrain awareness and warning system warned "pull up". As it reached the runway threshold, it was travelling at 151 knots (280 km/h), 43 knots (80 km/h) faster than its final approach target speed of 108 knots (200 km/h). Based on tyre marks the jet made on the runway surface, it touched down two-thirds of the way along the runway, leaving only about 440 m (1,440 ft) of runway in which to stop. The aircraft landed at a speed of 134 knots (248 km/h) (compared to the 108 knots (200 km/h) recommended by the manufacturer); the required stopping distance at this speed would have been more than 600 m (2,000 ft). It struck an earthen bank and became briefly airborne again before coming to a rest in the car park of a British Car Auctions facility, directly adjacent to Blackbushe Airport. The wreckage caught fire within one second of coming to rest. Several fire engines attended the scene to extinguish the fire, which was complicated by the burning wreckage setting alight several cars around the wreckage in the car park.
All four people on board the aircraft were killed in the accident, but no one on the ground was injured.
Investigation
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has opened an investigation into the accident. On 6 August 2015, the AAIB issued a Special Bulletin that described the accident sequence. During its investigation, the AAIB used a drone to take photographs of the accident site. The final report was published on 8 December 2016.
The cause of the accident was found to be pilot error. The aircraft had not been in a stable approach, landed at too high a speed, and touched down too far along the runway to have sufficient distance available in which to stop. The location where the aircraft ended up meant that the post-crash fire was exacerbated. Only one of the three fire engines had a key to the gate, which delayed their arrival at the crash site. Subsequent to this accident, the airport operator has ensured that all fire engines are provided with key to all gates they need access to. All four on board the aircraft survived the accident, but were killed by the post-crash fire.