On April 2, 2011, four highly experienced, proficient flight test personnel were killed when a Gulfstream G650 crashed during certification testing. Gulfstream was focused on obtaining Federal Aviation Administration type certification by the third quarter of 2011. Among other factors, the crash was traced to incorrect calculation of takeoff and stall speeds and a superficial review of two previous similar near-crashes.
NASA is doing more development testing now than any time since Apollo. We must preserve essential testing against time and budget constraints. Let’s harness this Gulfstream event to make our tests sound and representative of environment, system and human interfaces.