On December 8, 2014, about 1041 eastern standard time, an Embraer EMB-500 airplane
(marketed as the Phenom 100), N100EQ, registered to and operated by Sage Aviation LLC,
crashed while on approach to runway 14 at Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg,
Maryland. The airplane impacted three houses and the ground about 3/4 mile from the approach
end of the runway. A postcrash fire involving the airplane and one of the three houses, which
contained three occupants, ensued. The pilot, the two passengers, and the three people in the
house died as a result of the accident. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
We determined that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot’s conduct of an approach in structural icing conditions without turning on the airplane’s wing and horizontal stabilizer deice system, leading to ice accumulation on those surfaces, and without using the appropriate landing performance speeds for the weather conditions and airplane weight, as indicated in the airplane’s standard operating procedures, which together resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude at which a recovery was not possible.
We made one safety recommendation each to the FAA, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and the National Business Aviation Association.
