NTSB News Talk – Aviation Accidents, Safety Investigations & Pilot Lessons

Max Trescott and Rob Mark review major recent aviation accidents and newly released NTSB reports, beginning with two breaking accidents: a U.S. Air Force B-52 crash shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California, and a fatal skydiving aircraft crash near Butler, Missouri, involving N221BN, a Pacific Aerospace 750XL/P-750 operated for Skydive Kansas City. That accident killed the pilot and 11 skydiving passengers and raises early questions about takeoff performance, low-altitude options, and the unique operational risks of jump aircraft.
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They also discuss N318JF, a fatal Gulfstream G200 crash at La Romana in the Dominican Republic and N858SD, a Cirrus SR20 crash in Ohio, along with the pilot’s previous icing accident in in N406SR, a 2006 SR22.
The preliminary report segment focuses on United Flight 169, a Boeing 767 arriving at Newark from Venice. After multiple runway changes, the crew flew the RNAV W Runway 29 approach, descended below the intended visual path, struck a light pole near the New Jersey Turnpike, and landed safely.
Final reports include N4167G, a Cessna 402B in Puerto Rico with serious maintenance discrepancies, N18BG, a Lancair ES stall while maneuvering for spacing at Oshkosh AirVenture, N3464D, a Champion 7GCBC accident near Eatonville, N14137, a 1934 WACO that entered unexpected IMC, and N6310N, a Citabria training accident in California.

Max Trescott and Rob Mark review a new NTSB recommendations for the FAA’s Runway Condition Assessment Matrix after wet-runway overruns showed that heavy rain can sharply reduce braking effectiveness.
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The episode then turns to several recent and preliminary accidents, including a Piper PA-28 N7188W loss-of-control crash at Akron-Fulton Airport, a Piper PA-32 Saratoga N5802N accident southwest of Empire, Nevada, a Diamond DA40 N787PV crash west of Elko, Nevada, and a North American AT-6 N29678 formation-flight crash near Bronson, Florida.
The final reports include three major lessons. In a Piper PA-28 N8438B crash at Muncie, Indiana, an instrument flight in an airplane not properly inspected for IFR ended in spatial disorientation after off-course maneuvering in IMC. In the IAI Westwind N1125A crash at Hot Springs, Virginia, the crew continued an unstabilized approach with altimeter, FMS, automation, and crew resource management problems. Finally, the Piper PA-46 N85PG in-flight breakup near Trout Creek, New York, shows the danger of continuing into convective weather, turbulence, and IMC while hand-flying.

Max Trescott and Rob Mark discuss several recent aviation accidents and new NTSB reports, beginning with a tragic Frontier Airlines A321 accident at Denver International Airport, where a man entered the runway environment and was struck during takeoff. The crew rejected the takeoff at high speed, the right engine caught fire, and multiple passengers reported minor injuries.
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The episode then examines the fatal crash of Cessna 421C N291AN near Wimberley, Texas. The aircraft was carrying people reportedly traveling to a pickleball tournament when it crashed at night in IMC with thunderstorms in the area. The pilot reportedly told ATC that the pitot heat had iced up, that the airplane was on backup gauges, and that pitot heat was not working.
Max and Rob also discuss other accidents include Cirrus SR22 N39VF, which deployed CAPS and was later dragged by the parachute across fields, fences, and a highway; Cessna 401B N122AT, which crashed after takeoff before reaching blue line speed; Beech 58 Baron N2063G during an instrument proficiency check; a King Air 300 ditching in the Atlantic; a Quad City Challenger ultralight issue; and Cessna 152 N588BR fuel exhaustion.

Max Trescott and Rob Mark analyze the LaGuardia runway collision involving Jazz Flight 646 and an airport firetruck that was cleared to cross runway 4 shortly before the landing regional jet arrived. The discussion focuses on the timing of the crossing clearance, repeated stop instructions, the movement of the firetruck, and the runway entrance lights that extinguished just seconds before impact. Max explains how runway status lights, runway entrance lights, anticipated separation, and ASDE-X are intended to work, and why that design logic may have failed when a moving firetruck reached the runway edge.
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The episode also examines the final report on Bombardier Challenger 600 N823KD, which crashed on Interstate 75 near Naples, Florida after both GE CF34-3B turbofan engines flamed out. The NTSB cited corrosion in the engines’ variable geometry systems, which led to near-simultaneous compressor stalls and loss of thrust.
Additional accidents include Mooney M20J N1151H near Union County Airport, Mooney M20J N205MK near Ironton, Ohio, Beech F-33A Bonanza N8032X at Minneapolis Crystal Airport, Bell 206 N409AE in Tennessee, Beech A36 Bonanza N2882W near Olympic Valley, Beech Super King Air B200GT N886DS near Sharp, Louisiana, Globe GC-1B N2387B near Afton, MN and Extra 300L N22MW near Bandera, Washington. Finally, they talk about N2387B, a Globe GC-1B that crashed while in a flat spin.

Max talks with Rob Mark about a dense lineup of recent accidents and final reports, led by the Piper PA-44 Seminole N595ND crash in Fort Pierce, Florida, the Cirrus SR22 N124SP hard landing in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Mooney M20K N4387W stall-spin in St. Augustine, Florida, after a cabin door popped open shortly after takeoff. They also examine the Beech 58 Baron N2063G crash in Tennessee, which appears consistent with a VMC demo that turned into a stall-spin, the Sling N166TW crash on Catalina Island after apparent low-level terrain maneuvering, and the Piper Saratoga N4190E runway overrun in Arizona after an excessively fast approach.
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In the final-report segment, they break down how distraction likely contributed to the Mooney M20K N4387W crash, why the Piper PA-44 Seminole N595ND shows the danger of trying to salvage a one-engine go-around in a light twin, and how Cessna 172P N781FM likely lost power because of carb ice during a low-power descent. They close with one of the strangest cases in the episode: a damaged battery pack that later ignited and destroyed Mooney M20E N5632Q in Hornell, NY. A brief additional mention covers a separate Cirrus SR22 N285AH that departed the runway in Fullerton, California after the pilot seat slid back on takeoff.