The plane never lifted off the ground, running off the runway and striking approach lights and an antenna before coming to rest in a ravine and erupting in a ball of fire. All seven on board the Atlantic City-bound corporate jet were killed in the May 2014 crash.
WASHINGTON -- It was expected to be a routine flight to Atlantic City.
New Jersey parking magnate and businessman Lewis Katz--the co-owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and a former owner of the New Jersey Nets and Devils--had flown with some friends on his private jet to Bedford, Mass., to attend a fundraising event at the Concord home of Richard Goodwin and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, with plans to return the same day.
Once on the ground in Massachusetts, the crew of the Gulfstream G-IV jet--two pilots and a flight attendant--had ordered a couple of large pizzas that were delivered to the aircraft, while they waited for their four passengers to return.
Delayed for an hour while waiting for some to re-board, they finally started up the engines at 9:30 p.m. and taxied out to Runway 11 for takeoff for the short flight to New Jersey.
Throttling up, the jet accelerated down the 7,011-foot runway when one of the pilots suddenly realized the flight controls were locked. His last words were "I can't stop it," and then "Oh, no, no."
The plane never lifted off the ground, running off the runway and striking approach lights and an antenna before coming to rest in a ravine and erupting in a ball of fire. All seven on board were killed, including Katz, Anne Leeds, Marcella Dalsey, and Susan Asbell.
On Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to meet in Washington to determine a probable cause for the May 31, 2014 crash.
A link to the webcast will be available shortly before the start of the 9:30 a.m. meeting here: NTSB Live link
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A preliminary report issued by the staff of the NTSB has already indicated that the pilots--both experienced--did not perform a flight control check before attempting takeoff from Hanscom Field outside Boston, and indicated a possible problem with a mechanical gust lock system on the jet which is meant to protect aircraft control surfaces from wind damage when planes are parked.
But the Gulfstream G-IV is designed to prevent the advance of engine throttles while the gust lock is engaged.
The plane would have been unable to take off with its control surfaces locked.
According to the report, tire-braking marks were found 1,300 feet from the end of runway, indicating efforts to stop the aircraft before the crash. The flight data recorder showed the jet was traveling at 165 knots--nearly 190 miles an hour, before pilots tried to abort the takeoff. It was still moving at more than 115 miles an hour when the aircraft ran out of runway and crashed.
Katz, 72, a lawyer who grew up in Camden, had won control of the Philadelphia Inquirer in a court-ordered auction less than a week before the crash.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.