Hop-A-Jet Worldwide Jet Charter, alongside its subsidiary Ace Aviation and East Shore, has filed a class-action complaint against GE Aerospace, Duncan Aviation and Bombardier and its Learjet subsidiary, Turbine Engine Specialists. The lawsuit is in relation to the February 2024 crash that killed two of Hop-A-Jet pilots.
The Bombardier Challenger 604 (N823KD) was returning to Naples Municipal Airport (APF) from the Ohio State University Airport (OSU) when both engines failed. Capt. Edward Daniel Murphy and First Officer Ian Frederick Hofmann attempted an emergency landing on a Florida Interstate and told flight attendant Sydney Bosmans to brace for impact. The jet hit two cars and a sound-barrier wall before it burst into flames, 1 minute and 12 seconds after the aircraft’s first alert. Bosmans and both passengers survived, though all three and one individual on the ground were injured.
The NTSB also released an airworthiness report on the engines, which were sent to multiple facilities for testing. A powerplant team in Lynn, Massachusetts, found that both engines had extensive corrosion in the high-pressure compressor case stages 4 and 5. The corrosion can affect compressor stability and lead to hung starts or sub-idle rotating stalls. The report also revealed that a month before the crash, the aircraft experienced hung starts on both engines during the same attempted flight. The aircraft was removed from service, and Hop-A-Jet followed the troubleshooting guidance from GE technical customer support, but could not identify the cause…