WinnCad Elements Blog

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Gulfstream jet crashes during tests; 4 killed

By Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
The crash, which occurred in Roswell, N.M., is under investigation by the Savannah, Ga., business-jet producer – a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. (GD 74.40, -0.20, -0.26%) the Falls Church, Va., aerospace giant – and by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, Gulfstream said.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who were lost,” Gulfstream Aerospace President Joe Lombardo said in a statement.

On the Gulfstream website, the G650 is described as having an extra-large cabin, accommodating 18 people, and the ability to fly “faster and farther than any traditional business aircraft.”

The plane’s top speed is mach .925, about 10% below the speed of sound, and with eight passengers and four crew it will fly 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km) nonstop, the Gulfstream website says.

The plane, the biggest business jet developed by Gulfstream, struck its right wing tip on the ground as it took off Saturday morning, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a spokesman for the FAA. The jet then hit the ground, causing the landing gear to collapse, and the plane skidded along the runway and caught fire, the spokesman told the Journal.