Texas lawmaker jet overruns runway, ends in field [Video]

Debbie Ann Powell

Cessna 551 Citation II/SP II transporting U.S. Republican politician Dade Phelan overran the runway of Angelina County Airport, Texas. The skidding aircraft crossed a road and ended its course in a field.

The business jet, registered N48DK and operated by Aviation Star S II, carried out an interstate flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to Lufkin-Angelina County Airport (LFK) in Texas on December 2, 2020. Onboard was the Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives Dade Phelan, a pilot, and another unidentified passenger.

As it landed at Lufkin airport, the aircraft visibly overran runway number 16. It crossed a road, breaking its undercarriage, and skidded in a field on its belly. Its course was slowed down by a fence. Out of the three occupants, one received minor injuries, the other two left the incident unharmed.

“In talking to the pilot, he said that when he landed the anti-lock brakes failed on the jet and so he cut them off and cut them back on, and when he did he had no brakes at all,” Angelina County Airport manager Gary Letney told KLTV.

An investigation was opened by the National Transportation Safety Board, whose investigators arrived on the crash scene. The aircraft was most likely damaged beyond repair.

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