NTSB investigates JSX Embraer ERJ145LR landing gear collapse at Houston airport

Summary

The NTSB has released a preliminary report on an incident involving an Embraer JSX ERJ145 on a flight operated by Delux Public Charter on May 3, 2024.
The incident resulted in the aircraft’s left main landing gear (LMLG) collapsing, leaving one person with minor injuries.
The preliminary report was released shortly after the FAA issued a statement that it would begin looking into Part 135 of the public charter regulations.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on an incident involving a JSX flight operated by Delux Public Charter, which resulted in the collapse of the left main landing gear (LMLG) of an Embraer ERJ145, registration N942JX . .

Request a go-around before a hard landing

The NTSB said the incident occurred at Houston Hobby International Airport (HOU) on May 3, 2024. Delux Public Charter was operating a flight on behalf of JSX from Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) and HOU, JSX selling tickets for flight XE284. . The flight was operated under Part 135 rules as a public charter flight.

Following interviews with the NTSB, the flight crew reported that the DAL’s takeoff and subsequent climb, cruise, and descent were uneventful. Investigators noted that during the approach to HOU, surface winds were 130 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 24 knots.

Several Embraer JSX planes parked on an airport apron.

Photo: JSX

As the Embraer ERJ145 exceeded the runway threshold at HOU, the flight crew told the NTSB they felt there was something wrong with the plane and requested a go-around . The go-around was initiated by the captain, who was the pilot flying (PF).

Neither pilot remembered initiating the go-around, despite flight data recorder (FDR) data showing an increase in throttle lever angle corresponding to the go-around thrust. However, the plane crashed into the ground at HOU shortly after.

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The plane had landed well below the hard landing threshold.

Left wing perforation

According to the NTSB, the vertical load factor during landing was 3.9 gravitational constants (g). As the Embraer ERJ145 taxied onto the runway, the aircraft’s LMLG collapsed, piercing the left wing upper skin.

Eventually, the private jet stopped on the left side of the runway, approximately 567 feet (172.8 meters) from the end of the runway. The NTSB said HOU emergency services responded immediately to the incident and passengers and crew exited the aircraft through the main cabin door. Of the 24 people on board, including three crew members and 21 passengers, the co-pilot was the only one to suffer minor injuries and was taken to hospital.

An initial visual inspection of the accident site showed that the LMLG had suffered structural damage and deformation, as well as leaking hydraulic fluid. Left wing spar III, which was a primary structural element, was bent and fractured in two locations and partially fractured in three other locations.

Photo: NTSB

However, the NTSB emphasized that despite the damage to the structural elements of the wing, the fuel tank was not punctured during the incident at HOU. Most of the structural damage was consistent with strong upward force from the LMLG, investigators added.

“The damage to the outer section of the wing was consistent with the wing scraping the runway surface and striking the runway lights.”

According to the NTSB, the investigation continues after the publication of the preliminary report involving several specialists, including airworthiness, operations, human performance, and specialists to extract data from the two recorders, including the FDR and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). However, investigators have not said whether the CVR was crashed because the U.S.-operated planes held only two hours of conversations due to federal regulations.

Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Delux Public Charter, and since the aircraft was designed in Brazil, the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Centro de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos, CENIPA) and Embraer will also participate in the investigation.

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One official explained that the recorders are “the most valuable tools for accident investigation.”

Repression of public charters

The incident report was released shortly after the FAA issued a statement that it was seeking to address concerns about public charter flights, which are operated under Part 135 regulations. However, it was very unlikely that the date of the preliminary report and the regulator’s statement are linked.

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock

Nonetheless, the FAA said it plans to take two actions against public charter companies, including JSX. Such flights, operated under the Part 135 regulation, have grown rapidly in frequency and complexity, the regulator noted.

“Some services appear to operate like regular airlines, but under less rigorous security regulations – a fact that is often not transparent to the traveling public.”

The FAA sought to meet three definitions, namely “scheduled,” “on-demand,” and “additional,” which would result in more stringent regulations that would be more akin to other non-public charter operations.

While the FAA had not yet issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the regulator said the NPRM would follow a request for comments in August 2023. Afterward, the agency received approximately 60,000 public comments.