A Hawker Beechcraft Premier I jet that crashed into a house on Sunday had made two attempts to land, the NTSB said Monday afternoon. The airplane hit two houses before crashing into a third near South Bend [Ind.] Regional Airport. The owner of the aircraft, Wesley Caves, 58, of Tulsa, Okla., and his friend Steve Davis, 60, were in the cockpit when it crashed, and both were killed. Both men were certified pilots, and it was not clear which one was flying the airplane, the safety board said. Two passengers and a resident of one of the houses were injured but are expected to survive. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson told AVweb the jet was on an IFR flight plan and departed Tulsa for South Bend in VFR conditions.
The jet attempted to land at South Bend about 4:15 p.m. on Sunday. “During the second aborted landing attempt the aircraft was observed to climb away from the runway, enter a bank, and then shortly thereafter impact the residence,” said NTSB investigator Todd Foxx. “In general, I am unaware at this time of any fleet safety issues. Of course we look at the fleet safety record during our prolonged investigation,” he said. Hundreds of people in the neighborhood were evacuated due to leaking fuel from the jet, but they have been allowed to return. The wreckage of the jet was removed on Tuesday and taken to a hangar at the South Bend Airport.
