The £7million jet which crashed killing three members of Osama Bin Laden’s family climbed 500 feet as it was coming into land, prompting the pilot to dive the aircraft at high speed towards the tarmac.
Flight data captured by AvGen Limited showed that as the aircraft approached the airfield it was flying at 1,250 feet, but as it turned around the circuit before landing, it increased altitude to 1,750 feet – at a critical time in the flight when it should have been losing height.
As the pilot, Mazen Al Doaja, steered the aircraft around towards the runway, he pushed the jet into a steep dive of 3,000 feet per minute.
Aviation experts are baffled as to why an experienced pilot would have continued the approach when the aircraft was not properly lined up on the runway on a stable approach.
The data, which was captured using specialist flight monitoring software called ADS-B, showed that the aircraft was flying in an unusual pattern as it prepared to land.
As the aircraft passed the threshold of the runway, it was at 75 feet, which was normal, but it was still flying at 149kts – some 30kts higher than usual – as it prepared to touch down.
Dave Reid, managing director of AvGen Ltd told MailOnline: ‘We monitor aircraft using Heathrow Airport, but after the accident in Blackbushe, we decided to see if we had data from the Phenom 300. The data is broadcast by commercial aircraft, executive jets and some private aircraft.
The information broadcast include the aircraft’s identity, altitude, location, speed, heading, and rate of climb or descent.
‘The aircraft increased in altitude by 500 feet at a time when it should have been descending. I am sure that this is something that the AAIB will be looking at in due course.’
According the aircraft’s manufacturers, Embraer, the Phenom 300 requires a minimum length of 799 metres to land at sea level and in dry conditions.
The runway at Blackbushe is 1,059 metres long, giving the pilot only 250 metres of extra space to land.
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