Cessna 680 accident near Washington, North Carolina, August 18, 2024
On August 18, 2024 at about 9:39 pm local time, a 2008 Cessna 680, registered N680SA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Washington, North Carolina (Washington-Warren airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crew’s failure to properly configure the airplane before landing and the captain’s subsequent failure to recognize the landing gear aural warning, which resulted in a gear-up landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew’s inadequate checklist use and crew coordination, and the known diminished capability of the airplane’s communication system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 2024 · about 9:39 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, North Carolina · Washington-Warren · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 680, built 2008 · all 680s on the register
- Registration
- N680SA · registry record · serial 680-0237
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The business jet landed on the runway at the completion of a visual approach with the landing gear retracted. The airplane slid to a stop, and a post-crash fire ensued which resulted in the airplane sustaining substantial damage. The two pilots, the sole occupants, egressed the airplane successfully without injury. InProbably should state where the ground injury occurred. telephone interviews and written statements, the pilots each stated that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded deployment of the landing gear and a successful landing. The first officer further stated that the gear warning was only audible in the left seat (Captain’s) headset and was not heard in her headset (right seat) or the overhead speaker, and that the communications panel had a “history” of problems. Review of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) confirmed the limitations of the airplane’s communication system, that the crew was aware of them, and that they discussed and debated how to mitigate the system’s limitations. The review also revealed that during the flights on the day of the accident, the performance of Before-Starting-Engines, Engine Start, Before Taxi, Before Takeoff, Before Landing and other tasks did not comport with the manufacturer’s checklists and were sometimes performed without any verbal communication between crewmembers. The CVR recording further revealed that the captain removed his headset due to a 500Hz “squeal” that he failed to identify as the gear warning horn, and consequently missed the repeating, “too low, gear” aural warning that followed.
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
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Flight crew
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › CRM/MRM techniques › Flight crew
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,750 hours in all; 2,650 in this make and model; 38.6 in the last 90 days; 12.9 in the last 30 days; 9,500 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 22, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 894.5 hours in all; 186.1 in this make and model; 108.4 in the last 90 days; 472.2 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 20, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,288.8 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 16, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 30,500 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: P&W Canada PW306C (turbofan); 2,288 hours total
- Engine 2: P&W Canada PW306C (turbofan); 2,288 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: GWW Goldsboro NC at 8:24 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 05/2, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 12 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.80 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm from OCW
Weather report (METAR): KOCW 181900Z AUTO 21012G18KT 10SM SCT045 33/21 A2980 RMK AO2 T03300210
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA24LA351.