NAPLES, Fla. — The Bombardier aircraft that crashed in Naples on February 9, claiming the lives of the two pilots, came as the pilots heard warnings for oil pressure in both engines and an error within another engine, all within seven seconds.
The plane landed on I-75 that afternoon, at 3:17 p.m. between the Pine Ridge Road and Golden Gate Boulevard exits, at mile marker 106. The crash killed both pilots but a flight attendant and two passengers survived, as well as the two drivers the aircraft hit on I-75.
The NTSB report, released on Tuesday, reveal the chronology of the minutes leading to the deadly crash on the highway.
3:08 p.m.: The tower at Naples Municipal Airport clears the Bombardier to land. The plane was at 6.5 miles north of the airport, heading east with an altitude of about 2,000 feet and a speed of 166 knots. The flight was about to make a series of slight left and then right turns to align with Runway 23 with a southwest landing.
3:09:33 p.m.: A warning of “L ENGINE OIL PRESSURE”
3:09:34 p.m.: A warning of “R ENGINE OIL PRESSURE”
3:09:40 p.m.: A warning of “ENGINE”
3:10:05 p.m.: Now the final is down to 1,000 feet – a drop of 500 feet/minute from two minutes before – and a slower speed of 122 knots. The crew said: “….lost both engines… emergency…making an emergency landing.”
3:10:12 p.m.: With the altitude down to 900 feet – dropping 100 feet in 7 seconds – and speed down to 115 knots, the crew said: “We are cleared to land but we are not going to make the runway… ah… we have lost both engines.”
3:10:47 p.m.: Flight recorded data ends, with the location over I-75 in Naples.
The NTSB report said the Bombardier’s wings leveled and aligned with traffic on the southbound lanes of I-75. The left landing center in the center lane, with the right gear in the right lane. Upon landing, the aircraft kept pushing west until crashing into the wall on the west side of the southbound lanes.
The flight attendant told investigators she saw fire blocked the cabin and exits but was able to get the two passengers and herself out of the baggage compartment door in the back of the plane.
The FAA and maintenance records report the airplane, built in 2004, had two GE CF34 Series turbofan engines power it and the most recent airworthiness inspection was only four weeks before the crash, on January 5.
Both pilots, Edward Murphy and Ian Hofmann, each held more than 10,000 total hours of flight experience.
Read the full NTSB report below.
LEFT ENGINE ANALYSIS: While the left engine showed damage consistent with a post-crash fire, the NTSB ruled most of it appeared intact. The fuel filter appeared clean and without evidence of debris or foreign materials. The fuel injectors revealed “normal operating signatures” and one of the fuel igniters, after removal, “displayed no anomalies.” The oil filter appeared in “good condition”.
RIGHT ENGINE ANALYSIS: The NTSB noted that fuel from the fuel filter bowl and heat exchanger “displayed a yellowish tint” while other fuel samples were clear. However, the examination of the engine noted, like the left engine, the fuel igniters “displayed no anomalies” and the oil filter appeared in good condition.
Investigators still have both engines as evidence for additional examination.
