On 24 November 2014, the crew of a privately-operated Gulfstream III carrying five passengers inadvertently commenced take off at night in poor visibility when aligned with the runway edge instead of the runway centreline. When the aircraft partially exited the paved surface, the take-off was rejected but not before the aircraft had sustained substantial damage which put it beyond economic repair. The Investigation found that chart and AIP information on the taxiway/runway transition made when lining up was conducive to error and that environmental cues, indicating the aircraft was in the wrong place to begin take-off, were weak.
Description
On 24 November 2014, a privately-operated Gulfstream III (N103CD) carrying 5 passengers left the paved surface whilst attempting to take off from runway 03 at Biggin Hill for a flight to Gander, Newfoundland at night and in low visibility caused by fog patches. The aircraft came to a stop on grass to one side of the runway and was evacuated. There were no injuries to the seven occupants but the extent of the structural damage sustained led to the aircraft being declared a hull loss.
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