N750GBCessna 750 · 2014

History of Flight

On August 5, 2024, about 1011 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 750, N750GB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Jamestown, New York. The pilot was seriously injured, and the copilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated by Access Stripe, Inc as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight.

The airplane departed Chautauqua County Dunkirk Airport (DKK), Dunkirk, New York, and was en route to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to collect airplane parts and a mechanic for work on another company airplane back at DKK.

Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) flight track and air traffic control (ATC) communication data revealed that the pilots obtained an instrument flight rules clearance “as filed” to FXE, and climbed the airplane to 10,000 ft mean sea level (msl). The Buffalo, New York approach controller advised the flight to expect a clearance to flight level 470 (47,000 ft) in 10 minutes, but received no reply. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach the flight crew, the controller contacted Cleveland Center to see if the flight had switched to the Cleveland radio frequency.

After more unsuccessful attempts, the controller began transmitting on the emergency (Guard) frequency and noted that the target identified as the accident flight displayed an emergency transponder code (7700) as it descended through 7,800 ft. The controller announced that the airplane was directly over Jamestown Airport (JHW), Jamestown, New York, without reply.

Later, the Buffalo controller established intermittent contact with the flight crew, that included “very garbled” transmissions. The last transmission from the flight crew included “we are about to land at Jamestown.”

Track data revealed the airplane climbed on a southerly track and leveled about 10,000 msl ft for about 1 minute before it entered a descent. The airplane passed west of JHW and initiated a left, descending, decelerating, 270°-degree turn to align with runway 25 (figure 1). The final target showed the airplane aligned with the runway at 1,625 ft and 150 kts. The airplane impacted the ground in a flat attitude about 200 ft before the approach end of runway 25 at JHW, which was located at an elevation of 1,723 ft.

Figure 1 – ADS-B track data depicting the final minute of the accident flight

The pilot was not immediately available for interview due to his injuries. The copilot reported that, about 5,000 ft in the initial climb, he smelled “electrical smoke,” but the pilot did not. The copilot then no longer detected the smell but as the airplane reached about 8,000 ft in the climb, both pilots detected the smell of electrical smoke. Both pilots stated there was an odor of smoke but no visible smoke.

As they descended through about 10,000 ft, the copilot said he heard the “clacker” for the pitch trim and that the airplane was “trimming down and accelerating… well over 250 [knots] with the nose trimming down.” The copilot said the “Master Caution” and panel segments illuminated, along with other Crew Alerting System (CAS) messages. He tried to contact the controller before he noticed that “Comm 2 had failed, and the Garmin 5000 had big, red X’s.”

The copilot described the actions of both crewmembers after landing as the cabin filled with smoke and they assessed their best paths of egress, as the airplane was surrounded by fire. Eventually, the pilot opened the main cabin door and both crewmembers egressed the airplane without assistance.

Personnel Information

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea and airplane multiengine land and sea, with multiple type ratings. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued on September 6, 2023. He reported 17,000 hours of flight experience on that date.

The copilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multiengine land, with multiple type ratings. He also held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on June 7, 2024, and he reported 12,950 total hours of flight experience on that date.

Airplane Information

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 2014 and was powered by two Rolls-Royce DE3007C2 turbofan engines. The airplane’s most recent continuous airworthiness inspection was completed on July 11, 2024, at 2,677 total hours of operation.

Wreckage Information

The airplane initially impacted terrain and runway lighting 200 ft before the approach end of runway 25. The airplane continued along the runway centerline, beyond the runway 13/31 intersection, continued off the left side of runway 25, and came to rest about 225 ft from the runway’s left edge and about 2,150 ft beyond the initial impact point (figure 2).

Figure 2 – Wreckage path plots.

The airplane came to rest facing about 300° magnetic. The cockpit, cabin area, inboard sections of both wings, empennage, and the root section of the vertical stabilizer were consumed by post-impact fire. The upper portion of the vertical stabilizer and the horizontal stabilizers were intact (figure 3).

Figure 3 – View of main wreckage facing direction of travel.

Control continuity was established from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces except for the left speed brake and spoiler cables, which displayed thermal damage consistent with the post-impact fire.

The engines were examined visually and also displayed thermal damage consistent with post-impact fire, and there was no evidence of pre-impact mechanical anomaly. The copilot stated that he monitored engine function throughout the flight, that there were no CAS messages that related to the engines, and that neither engine malfunctioned.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was recovered and retained for examination and download.