Embraer EMB-500 accident near Gaithersburg, Maryland, December 8, 2014
On December 8, 2014 at about 3:41 pm local time, a 2009 Embraer EMB-500, registered N100EQ, was destroyed in an accident during approach (IFR final approach) near Gaithersburg, Maryland (Montgomery County Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's conduct of an approach in structural icing conditions without turning on the airplane's wing and horizontal stabilizer deice system, leading to ice accumulation on those surfaces, and without using the appropriate landing performance speeds for the weather conditions and airplane weight, as indicated in the airplane's standard operating procedures, which together resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude at which a recovery was not possible.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 8, 2014 · about 3:41 pm local time · cases in 2014
- Place
- Gaithersburg, Maryland · Montgomery County Airpark · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Embraer EMB-500, built 2009 · all EMB-500s on the register
- Registration
- N100EQ · no longer on the register · serial 50000082
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-16/01. On December 8, 2014, about 1041 eastern standard time, an Embraer EMB-500 airplane (marketed as the Phenom 100), N100EQ, registered to and operated by Sage Aviation LLC, crashed while on approach to runway 14 at Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg, Maryland. The airplane impacted three houses and the ground about 3/4 mile from the approach end of the runway. A postcrash fire involving the airplane and one of the three houses, which contained three occupants, ensued. The pilot, the two passengers, and the three people in the house died as a result of the accident. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The flight was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Structural icing during enroute (descent)
- Loss of control in flight during approach (IFR final approach) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during approach (IFR final approach)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › (general) › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft handling/service › Loading › (general) › Related operating info
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › (general) › Effect on equipment
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Ice/rain protection system › Airfoil anti › ice, deice › Not used/operated other cases naming the heating, ice protection and utility systems
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Indicating/recording systems › (general) › Not installed/available other cases naming the instruments and avionics
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,736.5 hours in all; 135.8 in this make and model
- Last flight review: April 28, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 633.8 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 14, 2014
- Maximum gross weight: 10,472 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: P&W Canada PW617F-E (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: P&W Canada PW617F-E (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Sage Aviation LLC
The flight
- Departed from: IGX Chapel Hill NC at 2:45 pm
- Destination: GAI Gaithersburg MD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 4,202 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,200 ft; a few clouds at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.61 inHg
- Observation at 3:35 pm from GAI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
39 documents, released by the NTSB on January 20, 2016. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N100EQ: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 221 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Embraer 661 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W Canada PW617F-E 179 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Engine: P&W Canada PW617F-E 179 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Montgomery County Airpark · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Maryland 837 since 1982 · 111 in the last ten years
- Maryland 2,355 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DCA15MA029.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.