…While Overruns Continue

But a cloud of sorts looms over Raytheon’s horizon in the form of a series of runway overruns involving the Premier I. In the most recent U.S. occurrence, on May 27, a Premier I operated under FAR Part 91 ran off Runway 7 at the North Las Vegas (Nev.) Airport after a wind shift was recorded during the flight’s approach and landing. According to the NTSB, the aircraft was substantially damaged when it collided with a fence. Another overrun accident occurred April 7 at Blackbushe Airfield in the United Kingdom when a solo pilot was positioning a privately owned example of the type. The pilot suffered minor injuries, but the airplane was reported destroyed. Typically, failure of the airplane’s lift dump spoilers to deploy on landing has been implicated in these accidents and incidents. When that occurs, the wheel brakes lose efficiency. In response, the FAA has issued two Airworthiness Directives aimed at updating the Premier I’s Airplane Flight Manual to add information on “Landing Performance for Operation of the Airplane with Lift Dump Inoperative.” At this point in the investigation into the May 27 accident, it’s not clear if the spoilers were an issue or if the wind shift was a major factor.