Learjet 23A accident near Windsor Locks, Connecticut, June 5, 1984
On June 5, 1984 at about 3:41 am local time, a Learjet 23A, registered N101PP, was destroyed in an accident near Windsor Locks, Connecticut (Bradley Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 5, 1984 · about 3:41 am local time
- Place
- Windsor Locks, Connecticut · Bradley Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Learjet 23A · all 23As on the register
- Registration
- N101PP · no longer on the register · serial 23-085
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE ACFT MADE A NORMAL APCH TO RWY 33 WITH NO APPARENT ABNORMALITIES. HOWEVER, WHEN IT WAS ABOUT 200 FT OVER THE APCH LIGHTS, THEY HEARD AN INCREASE IN THE ENG THRUST & THE ACFT'S DESCENT STOPPED. TWO PLT WITNESSES THOUGHT THE AIRCREW INITIATED A GO-AROUND. IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER, THE ACFT BEGAN AN APPARENT LEVEL TURN TO THE RIGHT. AS IT TURNED THRU ABOUT 90 DEG OF TURN, THE BANK ANGLE HAD INCREASED TO NEARLY 90 DEG, THE ACFT'S NOSE DROPPED & THE PLANE CRASHED IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE & BURNED. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED & THE FLAPS WERE PARTIALLY EXTENDED. THE AILERON TRIM ACTUATOR WAS IN A FULL LEFT WING DOWN POSITION & THE ELEVATOR WAS TRIMMED NEAR A FULL NOSE UP POSITION. THE RIGHT SPOILER ACTUATOR WAS FOUND IN A FULL EXTENDED POSITION & THE LEFT WAS IN A RETRACTED POSITION, WHICH WAS INDICATIVE OF AN ASYMMETRIC SPOILER CONFIGURATION. RADAR DATA INDICATED THE CREW HAD EXTENDED THE SPOILERS DURING THE LAST PART OF THE DESCENT & APCH. NO REASON FOUND FOR IMPROPER SPOILER OPERATION.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,039 hours in all; 1,130 in this make and model; 282 in the last 90 days; 99 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,393 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 14, 1984; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,499 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CJ610-4 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Air Continental, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SYR Syracuse NY at 3:11 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 33, 6,846 ft by 220 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from BDL, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.