Plane Crash Involving
Actress Sandra Bullock

Actress Sandra Bullock, who has starred in "Speed," "Miss Congeniality," and other movies, survived a crash involving a chartered business jet on 20 December 2000. Bullock, the other passenger, and the two crew members were not injured in the crash. The aircraft was attempting to land at night and in reduced visibility conditions at Jackson Hole, WY after a flight from Austin, TX. The aircraft apparently landed in an area parallel to the runway. The aircraft was heavily damaged, including a sheared nose landing gear. The following description is based on the NTSB accident synopsis.


Date: 20 December 2000
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
Operator: Millionair Dallas
Aircraft: Hawker Siddeley HA-125-700, registration: N236BN
NTSB Identification Number: DEN01FA030

The aircraft was on an unscheduled domestic flight from Austin, TX to Jackson, WY and was operating under Federal Regulations Part 135. According to the captain they could see runway 18 from 9,000 feet mean sea level and 5 nautical miles away from the field. The flight crew was unable to get the runway lights turned on before their landing attempt. The NTSB also indicated that the flight crew landed the aircraft below weather minimums.

The NTSB reported that the airplane first contacted the ground approximately 195 feet (59 meters) left of the runway center line, and 3,500 feet (1066 meters) along the runway from the threshold. The airplane settled into approximately two feet of snow (60 cm), and left a track in the snow for approximately 600 feet (183 meters). Both the nose gear and nose cone were completely separated from the aircraft, the right wing was partially separated from the airplane, and the left wing was bent and badly damaged.

The NTSB determined that the probable causes included the pilot's failure to follow appropriate approach procedures and perform a missed approach when the runway was not in sight below approach minimums. Contributing factors were the copilot's failure to follow current approach procedures and use the correct frequency to turn on the runway lights. Weather and visibility conditions were also factors.

Additional Information
BBC Online Report on the accident
Other Crashes Involving Celebrities
Historical celebrity crashes

Plane Crash Involving Actress Sandra Bullock
http://airsafe.com/events/celebs/bullock.htm -- Revised: 16 November 2007