Jan. 15, 2026
NBAA supports a series of urgent safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following two fatal post-maintenance stall testing accidents involving Hawker business jets.
In a safety recommendation to Textron Aviation, the NTSB urged the type certificate-holder to establish required pilot training and experience guidelines to conduct such tests in the Hawker 750, 800, 800XP, 850XP and 900XP.
The board also urged revisions to approved stall test procedures to prepare manufacturer-authorized flight crews for potential risks and unexpected stall responses in these aircraft, which “feature a wing design that is sensitive to minor installation or condition defects that may be introduced inadvertently during maintenance activities” including required four-year inspections.
These discrepancies, the NTSB noted, could result in a stall preceding stick shaker or stick pusher activation, multiple uncommanded rolls through 360°, spin entry or a combination of these behaviors.
The board also urged the FAA to require Textron to complete these tasks.
In another urgent safety recommendation to NBAA, the board asked the association to “inform its members about the circumstances of these accidents and the safety issues identified.”
The recommendations follow the board’s determination that the fatal February 2024 crash of a Hawker 900XP near Westwater, UT, occurred following the flight crew’s decision to conduct a post-maintenance stall test in icing conditions, in which the aircraft experienced multiple uncommanded rollovers and entered a flat spin.
A similar accident in November 2025, involving a Mexican-registered Hawker 800 in Michigan, also occurred during a post-maintenance stall series. While that accident investigation is still underway, the board noted the Hawker 800’s descent profile was similar to the Westwater accident.
In both events, the regular line pilots conducted the tests who may have been “unprepared to successfully remediate the adverse stall behavior they encountered during the flight,” the NTSB stated. “The flight crew training and experience needed to safely perform a stall test flight in certain Hawker airplanes exceeds that which is typically provided to operational line pilots.”
“We welcome the NTSB’s actions to address these scenarios that pose elevated risk while conducting certain manufacturer-required post-maintenance tests,” said Mark Larsen, CAM, director of safety and flight operations. “Operators of these aircraft should thoroughly review their stall testing procedures and only use appropriately qualified and experienced flight crews to perform these tests.”
The board also recommended pilots operating manual and airplane flight manual revisions for these types describing potential stall responses to certain wing surface anomalies, and to define stall test pilot requirements and testing plans for other HS125-series aircraft.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.