The final report by the National Transportation Safety Board on Flight 823, which crashed during an emergency landing on I-75 in Naples on Feb. 9, 2024, was released Thursday afternoon and pins the probable cause of the crash on corrosion in both engines that led to loss of thrust and the ensuing crash landing.
The NTSB report also said the corrosion was exacerbated due to the plane's use and storage near the ocean and a marine environment with exposure to salt air.
An analysis in the NTSB final report said that data from the flight data recorder indicated that during the approach both engines began a commanded decrease in power and that a comparison of this deceleration to prior flights showed that the engine deceleration during the accident flight was consistent with previous flights and not consistent with a fuel cutoff event, combustor blowout, or engine flameout event.
The NTSB report's official language determined the probable cause or causes of the crash to be: Corrosion of both engines’ variable geometry (VG) system components, which led to their operation in an off-schedule position and resulted in near-simultaneous sub-idle rotating compressor stalls on approach, subsequent loss of thrust in both engines, and an off-airport landing.
The report said that contributing to the accident was inadequate fault isolation guidance from the engine manufacturer, which prevented the identification of corrosion buildup in variable geometry system components during troubleshooting of hung start events of both engines about one month before the accident.
A hung start occurs when the engine lights off normally but doesn't accelerate to idle RPMs.
The NTSB further said that the examination revealed the same results for both engines: corrosion was observed.
The Bombardier CL-600-2B16 twin-engine jet was destroyed in the crash and its two pilots fatally injured. The cabin attendant and two passengers sustained minor injuries, and one person on the ground also suffered minor injury.
The airplane was owned by Ace Aviation Services of Miami, operating as Hop-A-Jet.
According to the NTSB report, chemical analysis of the corrosion collected from the compressor case and VG system hardware revealed corroded steel and elements commonly found in a sea salt environment.
The corrosion buildup likely occurred over time as the airplane was continually exposed to salt air associated with marine climates. Since its manufacture, the airplane was primarily based at airports located in close proximity to the ocean (first with the previous operator based in Barbados, and then with the current operator based in Fort Lauderdale).
Twenty-five days before the accident, a hung start occurred on both of the airplane’s engines while the pilots were preparing for taxi. The operator consulted with the engine manufacturer to troubleshoot the issue, using a fault isolation logic flowchart with 27 logic blocks requiring a “YES” or “NO” response. Block 21 of the flowchart required a pressure check of the VG system (titled Maintenance Practice [MP] 68).
During the troubleshooting of the hung start events, MP 68 was not performed because the engines were started and no further anomalies were noted, allowing discontinuing of troubleshooting in accordance with the flowchart. With the concurrence of the engine manufacturer, the airplane was returned to service and flew 33 uneventful flights (excluding the accident flight) over the next 25 days, accruing 57 hours of flight time until the accident.
Because the step that could have identified the corrosion, the NTSB report said, was so late in the fault isolation hung start guidance, and it was not a required maintenance check, the airplane was returned to service after successful engine start and no other subsequent engine start issues. Thus, the corrosion of the VG system components continued to go undetected and eventually led to the sub-idle compressor stall during the accident flight.
As a result of the accident investigation, the engine manufacturer published an updated version of the fault isolation hung start guidance to give precedence to the VG system testing by making it step 2 in the troubleshooting logic tree.
Day of the crash
The airplane was returning to Naples Municipal Airport (APF) from Ohio State University Airport (OSU), Columbus, Ohio, where it had flown earlier in the day. It was scheduled to leave Naples and head back to Fort Lauderdale later that day.
The 2004 Bombardier Challenger 600 was serviced with 350 gallons of fuel before departure from OSU.
Warnings that there was something wrong came just nine minutes before the crash, on final approach to Naples. According to NTSB reports, flight data showed that the flight crew contacted the Naples Airport Traffic Control tower while on the right downwind leg of the approach to the airport and maneuvering for a 5-mile final approach to runway 23. At 3:08 p.m., the tower controller cleared the flight to land.
At that point the airplane was about 6.5 miles north of the Naples Airport, at about a 2,000-foot altitude and 166 knots — about 191 miles per hour — groundspeed, as it turned for the base leg of the traffic pattern.
Pilot autopsies
The District 20 Medical Examiner, Collier County, performed an autopsy of the captain. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was inhalation of superheated gases and the manner of death was accident. The first officer of the District 20 Medical Examiner, Collier County, performed an autopsy of the first officer. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was catastrophic blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was accident.
More
- NTSB moves crashed jet from I-75 to Jacksonville; Freeway SB opens
- Two dead as small jet crashes on I-75 in Collier County, hits vehicle; Road southbound closed for now
- Naples jet crash lawsuit filed, seeks damages from General Electric, others; alleges unreported corrosion
First responders
"From our standpoint, from the emergency response agencies, the reason behind whatever the mechanical failure or the failure was of the plane that caused the plane crash doesn't play a factor into how we respond to any emergency," Heather Mazurkiewicz, public information officer for the North Collier Fire Control and Recue District, said.
"I'm sure from our standpoint, we're glad that the families have some answers now. And we will continue to tell the stories of the pilots and how they saved so many people's lives by bringing that plane down on I-75 versus the residential area that was just a few 100 feet from them."
Crash details
Of the crash itself, the Associated Press reported Brianna Walker, 26, witnessed as the wing of the plane dragged the car in front of hers and slammed into the wall.
“It’s seconds that separated us from the car in front of us,” she said. “The wing pulverized this one car.”
Walker and her friend saw the plane moments before it hit the highway, allowing her friend to pull over before the crash.
“The plane was over our heads by inches,” she said. “It took a hard right and skid across the highway.”
Walker said an explosion of flames then burst from the plane with a loud boom. Pieces of the plane littered the highway.
“It feels unreal like a movie,” she said. “It was seconds between us dying.”
Lawsuit filed
A year-and-a-half after the crash landing, claims of dangerous and defective equipment on the craft sparked a lawsuit.
Hop-A-Jet filed a multi-count lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 16, 2025.
Multiple defendants include General Electric Company, GE Aerospace, Bombardier, and Learjet.
The suit alleges that corrosion found in the craft’s engines was not reported to Hop-A-Jet prior to purchase. The suit claims the engines were unfit for use and were in an unreasonably dangerous and defective condition.
The suit seeks class action status, damages for loss of the aircraft, loss of revenue, cost of the crash cleanup, attorney fees, and more. The suit said an amount for actual damages would be proven at trial.
Hop-A-Jet is seeking a trial by jury. The civil case was assigned to Judge Rodney Smith in the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale.
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