Aviation Experts Puzzled About What Went Wrong In Bedford Jet Crash
NASHUA, NH (CBS) - Greg Raiff runs Private Jet Services, a New Hampshire company that manages private flights for everyone from business executives to rock stars.
And the Gulfstream IV, with its high-end engines and lux interior, is a go-to plane.
"I would fly it with my children every day, twice on Sundays," said Raiff.
Raiff, who has more than two decades in the aviation industry, doesn't know if it was a mechanical issue or pilot error or a combination of both, that caused the Atlantic City-bound flight out of Hanscom Field to crash Saturday night.
But based on the skid marks, he is confident of one thing.
"It seems pretty clear that the pilots tried to abort the takeoff," said Raiff.
Steve Cunningham, a pilot and instructor who runs the Nashua Flight Simulator, agrees that something led the Gulfstream pilots to try to stop the plane.
Cunningham says it could have been anything from an engine explosion to a blown tire that would have caused the pilots to try to keep the plane from taking off.
"We still don't know what those circumstances were as of yet," said Cunningham.
Both Cunningham and Raiff are confident that the flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders will solve the mystery.
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