A Citation 560X business jet crashed into a building in Farmington, Connecticut, on Thursday, killing the two pilots and two passengers onboard. The aircraft went down shortly after takeoff from Plainville’s Robertson Airport (4B8) at a little before 10 a.m. local time. A significant post-crash fire occurred, affecting both the building and the aircraft. At this time, it is believed that no one in the building at the time of the accident was injured.
“It appears there was some type of mechanical failure during the takeoff sequence that resulted in the crash behind us,” Farmington police Lt. Tim McKenzie told reporters at the scene.
McKenzie also noted that the jet hit the ground prior to hitting the side of the building, which is a manufacturing facility owned by industrial machine manufacturing company Trumpf Inc. The aircraft’s destination was listed as Dare County Regional Airport (MQI) in Manteo, North Carolina. The NTSB is en route to investigate and is expected on site later today.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
According to Doctor Dave [the author of Aircraft Spruce’s Sport Pilot Encyclopedia]:
“it is NEVER too early to speculate… just too early to KNOW”
…so…
Another bizjet overlooked control lock tragedy?
WPR19FA230
ERA14MA271
Did acft stagger less than a half mile after takeoff or was it returning with a problem?
Pay NO attention to the name on the side of the building.
NO, that WAS NOT his previous family name [“Drumpf” — changed to sound less Tchermann]
NO this high tech precision tooling facility was NOT a secret arms manufacturer quietly building a “bigger, better” arsenal for another insurrection attempt to overthrow democracy in the USA and emplace a dictatorship.
There is NO conspiracy: move along — nothing to see here.
OMG that was so funny
Wow, WOM, you might want to cut back on the caffeine!
Better than THAT anyway!
Speaking of conspiracy theories, try this one on for size:
if it WAS Trumpf’s kid in the left seat, was it deliberate
…or just ultimate tragic irony?
With the bag up job of Biden and Harris, a insurrection would have been a good thing…
Too bad it wasn’t. It was a mostly peaceful protest in ‘the people’s house’ required by law to be open to the public.
Did anyone track it on Flight Aware or another software program. I’m looking for the N# or s/n#
This was N560AR which was based at 4B8. A colleague of mine was on Northwest Drive at the end of the runway and saw it pass about 15 feet in front of him and about 15 feet overhead. The runway elevation is about 20 feet above the road. The jet clipped off the top of a power pole and left some foam and carbon fiber skin behind. He said he saw the nose being raised steeply and it seemed to climb but then disappeared behind trees. I work in a neighboring office building so I walked to the scene. I spoke to a man who was outside and across the street from the impact site at the time and I asked him if he heard the jet engines running and he said “yea they were loud”. The Citation XL is specified for a take off distance of 3560 feet and the runway length at Robinson 4B8 is 3665 feet. Any thoughts on that runway length for this jet?
Also I was told that N560AR is owned by Mr. Trumpf, the owner of the manufacturing business that the plane crashed into. I was also told that the jet was piloted by Mr. Trumpf’s son.
What were the weather conditions at the time? Temperature, density altitude?
A tragedy to be sure.
Temp was around 73 degrees and the wind was calm to a slight breeze from the North.
“Also I was told that N560AR is owned by Mr. Trumpf, the owner of the manufacturing business that the plane crashed into. I was also told that the jet was piloted by Mr. Trumpf’s son.”
Told by whom?
According to the police ID of the people on board, one pilot was the manager of Robertson Airport, the other was a corporate pilot. And the two passengers were doctors from Boston. This appears to be a standard charter flight gone horribly wrong.
It really doesn’t matter to you who told me such but it is somebody who I believe is a credible source managing a neighboring business property.
That runway may have been legal for pt91 ops, but I don’t think it is long enough for pt135 (60% factored landing distance). Most insurance companies would not cover pt135 jet ops on runways shorter than 5000ft. If this was a charter it will be interesting to see the FAA reaction to it. Maybe someone with C560XL experience could comment on that.
Update is that the plane’s occupants have been identified and there were no Trumpf family members onboard.
WOM.. That was entertaining..!
Given the amount of carnage being stacked up by GA.. I feel a little critical thinking should be in order, at some point.. If I own a GA aircraft and I fly it myself or pay someone to fly it for me.. Should we/could we, just take a look, at our own proficiency, or that of the people we pay the minimum amount to fly it for us.. Before we bring family along for the wonderful ride.. From Earnhardt Jr, to Kobe, and the multitude of others with less notoriety..
“Mommy, make it stop..!!”
New photos show skid marks going off of the end of the runway.
These are not my photos.
https://ab8.org/n560ar/