In Episode 15 of NTSB News Talk, co-hosts Rob Mark and Max Trescott examine a week filled with new legislation and a series of tragic accidents that highlight recurring lessons in aviation safety and human factors.
The show opens with the Senate Commerce Committee’s new bipartisan aviation safety bill, which—if passed—would close the ADS-B loophole that allows certain military aircraft to operate without transmitting position data. Rob explains that the legislation was sparked by the midair collision near Reagan National Airport (DCA) involving a military jet and a civilian aircraft, after which the NTSB identified over 15,000 unreported near misses in the Washington, D.C. area. Max notes that while the bill’s text isn’t public yet, reports indicate it would require ADS-B In for aircraft already required to carry ADS-B Out.
Rob then recounts the fatal stall-test crash of a Hawker 800 that had just undergone heavy maintenance in Battle Creek, Michigan. The aircraft entered an unrecoverable stall during post-maintenance checks at 15,000 feet, killing all three aboard. Having flown the Hawker himself, Rob explains how rare and risky such stall tests are—especially without an experienced test pilot. Max adds that with two similar Hawker losses in 18 months, new FAA or manufacturer guidance may soon follow.
The discussion shifts to Erie, Colorado, where a JMB VL3 Evolution light-sport aircraft crashed during pattern work in extreme, sudden wind shear that tore down wind socks and caught multiple pilots off guard. Witnesses described gusts exceeding 50 knots. Investigators found the ballistic parachute’s activation pin still installed—a fatal oversight. Max explains how the startle effect and loss of fine motor control under stress can make removing such a pin nearly impossible in flight. His advice: Always pull the parachute pin before takeoff.
From there, Rob examines the Gulfstream G150 runway overrun at Chicago Executive (PWK), where a new copilot landed long and fast on a wet runway while the speed brakes were never deployed. Despite thrust reversers and hard braking, the jet slid into the EMAS barrier. Fortunately, nobody was injured. Rob and Max use the incident to illustrate how auditory exclusion—the brain’s inability to process sound under stress—can cause pilots to ignore or not even hear a call to “go around.”
Max next analyzes the Cirrus SR22 crash near Ruston, Louisiana, in which a private pilot flying an RNAV approach reported autopilot trouble and began hand-flying shortly before losing control. ADS-B data showed large heading deviations and a rapid descent from 1,200 feet AGL. Though weather looked benign, embedded thunderstorms and outflow boundaries were present. The Cirrus parachute was found undeployed. Max discusses how pilots under pressure often fail to pull CAPS when they should, particularly when they feel personally responsible for the problem.
The episode closes with a sobering case from Lincoln, Montana, where a recently licensed private pilot attempted a night landing in mountainous terrain at an airport surrounded by peaks up to 8,600 feet. With...