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2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash

Coordinates: 33°56′13″N 81°06′18″W / 33.937°N 81.105°W / 33.937; -81.105
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2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash
The remains of N999LJ
Accident
DateSeptember 19, 2008 (2008-09-19)
SummaryRunway overrun due to maintenance error and pilot error
Site2860 Edmund Highway, near Columbia Metropolitan Airport, West Columbia, South Carolina, United States
33°56′13″N 81°06′18″W / 33.937°N 81.105°W / 33.937; -81.105
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLearjet 60
OperatorGlobal Exec Aviation[1]
RegistrationN999LJ
Flight originColumbia Metropolitan Airport, Columbia, South Carolina
DestinationVan Nuys Airport, Van Nuys, California
Occupants6
Passengers4
Crew2
Fatalities4
Injuries2
Survivors2

On the night of September 19, 2008, a Learjet 60 business jet (registration N999LJ)[2] operating for Global Exec Aviation, crashed during take-off from Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina.[3][4]

Four of the six people on board died in the crash. The survivors, musician Travis Barker and disc jockey Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, were critically injured.[5] The jet had been due to fly Barker, Goldstein, and their entourage to Van Nuys, California, after their TRV$DJAM band's performance at a concert in Five Points.[6]

Aircraft and crew

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The aircraft involved was a Learjet 60 that had first flown in 2006, receiving its airworthiness certificate on December 14. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW305A turbofan engines and had 108.5 flight hours with 123 take off and landing cycles.[7]: 7 

The captain was Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, California and the first officer was James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, California. Both pilots had joined Global Exec Aviation the same year of the accident.[7]

Captain Lemmon had 3,140 flight hours, but only 35 of them were on the Learjet 60, and just eight of them were as a captain of that aircraft. An instructor described her as having "excellent" crew resource management. However, she had received several notices of disapprovals during her training.[7][6]

First Officer Bland had 8,200 flight hours with 300 of them on the Learjet 60. The director of Global Exec Aviation, who had flown with both crew members of the accident flight, described Bland as "not overly assertive."[7]

Accident

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Just before midnight, the plane was heading down the runway for takeoff when the occupants heard a loud bang.[4] According to the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic controllers saw sparks emanating from the plane.[4] After experiencing a tire failure and aborting the take-off, the co-pilot notified air traffic control to send out emergency equipment because the aircraft would be going off the end of the runway.[6][8] Barker and Goldstein stated that the aircraft felt "out of control" and was swaying back and forth.[1]

The aircraft overran the runway end, crashed through the airport boundary fence, crossed South Carolina Highway 302, and came to rest on an embankment, bursting into flames.[9] It took firefighters more than an hour to get the fire under control.[8]

Victims and survivors

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Both pilots were killed, as well as passengers Charles Monroe Still Jr. and Chris Baker.[4][6] The pilot and co-pilot died from smoke inhalation and burns minutes after the crash.[8] Passengers Still Jr. and Baker died upon impact.[8]

Barker and Goldstein escaped the plane and told first responders four others were on board. Both had second and third degree burns and received skin grafts.[3][10][11] Goldstein was asleep at the time of the crash and woke up to Barker screaming.[10] Barker opened the door to the plane and slid down the plane's wing.[10] Goldstein jumped out after him.[10] Goldstein was on fire, but was able to put out the flames by rolling on the ground.[10]

Barker stated that he was covered in jet fuel, and started running and ripping off his clothes.[11] Eventually, he heard someone tell him to stop, drop and roll, which put out most of the fire on his body.[11] Barker had burns on sixty-five percent of his body and was in the hospital for eleven weeks following the accident.[11] He has post-traumatic stress disorder,[11] and did not fly on a plane again until August 2021.[12]

Following the plane crash, Goldstein was prescribed painkillers and anti-anxiety medication. Goldstein developed a fear of flying, and continued taking anxiety medication to help deal with the regular flights his lifestyle required.[13] Eleven months later, he would fatally overdose on harder drugs that he had not used in a decade.[14] Celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky said it was those prescriptions which opened the "floodgates" to Goldstein's relapse.[15] A friend of his reached the same conclusion, saying: "I think the plane crash killed him, it just took a year for it to do it.".[16]

Investigation

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On the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the pilot indicated she was reacting to the apparent sound of a burst tire and attempting a rejected takeoff. Pieces of a tire were found at the crash site.[17] The plane did not carry a flight data recorder (FDR).

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) report attributed the accident to tire bursts during take-off and the captain's resulting decision to abort at high speed.[7] Several tires were severely under-inflated and punctured during take-off.[7] Pieces of the tires damaged the plane's hydraulic system, causing the plane's brakes to fail.[6] The captain aborted at 144 knots (267 km/h; 166 mph). The normal operating procedure for Learjet 60s is never to abort above the "go/no-go" decision speed V1, which for this particular take-off was 136 knots (252 km/h; 157 mph).[7]

The captain therefore aborted the takeoff after V1, violating these operating procedures. The first officer can be heard saying the appropriate "go go go" on the CVR. A contributing factor was the engines giving full power, even though the pilots were applying reverse thrust. The reason for this was the aircraft's air/ground sensor was damaged by debris and caused the sensor to go to "air" mode. Investigators also found that the captain had limited experience in the Learjet 60 and that the company's tire pressure inspections were inadequate.[7][6]

Global Exec Aviation estimated that the tire pressure had been checked three weeks before the crash, but investigators stated that the type of tires on the Learjet 60 at the time lose approximately two percent of their pressure per day and would need to be replaced after eight days if they were not properly maintained.[6] Additionally, investigators noted a design flaw in the thrust reverser system which the NTSB believed may have contributed, increasing the severity of the crash.[1]

Lawsuits

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Both survivors, as well as the estates of two of the deceased, sued for damages from parties including Learjet, tire manufacturer Goodyear, and, in at least Goldstein's case, against the estates of the dead pilots.[18] Barker's case was settled out of court in December 2009 and the terms of the settlement are confidential.[19] The estates of Still, Jr. and Baker also reached settlements.[6][1] Global Exec Aviation and ITAS, Inc. also filed a lawsuit against Learjet and Bombardier, the manufacturers of the plane.[6][1] The owner of the plane also sued the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Logan (April 23, 2010). "NTSB releases final report on plane crash involving Travis Barker, DJ AM". Wis News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "FAA Registry (N999LJ)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  3. ^ a b "Crew in crash died of burns, smoke inhalation". Today.com. NBC News Digital. Associated Press. September 22, 2008. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Kinnard, Meg (October 22, 2008). "Experts: Pilots of doomed Learjet should've lifted off SC runway instead of trying to stop". NewsDay. Associated Press.
  5. ^ Boucher, Geoff; Oldham, Jennifer (September 20, 2008). "Former Blink-182 drummer, popular DJ survive plane crash that killed 4". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "NTSB: Tires Blamed in Fatal Blink 182 Jet Crash". CBS News. CBS. Associated Press. April 6, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Runway Overrun During Rejected Takeoff, Global Exec Aviation, Bombardier Learjet 60, N999LJ, Columbia, South Carolina, September 19, 2008" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. April 6, 2010. NTSB/AAR-10/02. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d "Smoke, fire killed crew in jet crash that Travis Barker, DJ AM survived". Chicago Tribune. September 3, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Learjet 60 N999LJ Columbia Metropolitan Airport, SC (CAE)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e "DJ AM recalls the horror of his plane crash". Today. October 15, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e Brown, Vanessa (February 25, 2019). "Travis Barker relives horror plane crash incident that killed four people". NZ Herald. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "Travis Barker Flies for First Time Since Deadly Crash". TMZ. August 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021.
  13. ^ As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM (Documentary). Manifest. April 2015.
  14. ^ "Celebrity Disc Jockey 'DJ AM' Found Dead in New York Apartment". Fox News Channel. August 29, 2009. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  15. ^ Zilberman, Alan (June 2, 2016). "'As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM' takes a frank look at a tragic life". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  16. ^ Salkin, Allen (October 16, 2009). "Dancing With Demons". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  17. ^ Davenport, Jim (September 21, 2008), "Feds say doomed SC jet crew thought tire blew out", Examiner.com
  18. ^ "DJ 'seeks $20m over plane crash'". BBC News. BBC. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  19. ^ "Travis Barker Settles Plane Crash Lawsuit". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
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