Cessna crashes in Boca Raton, FL
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Based on the radar track, some people guessed that there was something wrong with the rudder.
A stuck rudder would cause you to fly in circles, and probably lose control. Although this is a 2-engine plane so you can get some control by using differential thrust - running one engine faster or slower than the other.
A rudder can get stuck if a cable breaks or gets fouled.
This plane probably has a gust lock, a device that is installed while on the ground to keep gusts of wind from making the rudder flap around. This lock is supposed to be removed before flight, this will definitely be on the checklist.
I have seen a guy, an instructor, leave the gust lock on a rudder and fly the plane with it installed. He never even knew it, but he did mention that the controls were sluggish. Someone spotted the lock still installed after landing. As the story spread everyone made the same comment - he should have died.
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Interesting. There are more detailed videos of the crash now btw...but long story short you can see it flying low and "tilted" left as if it was being pulled left the whole time (per the previous comment and visual...) so what you said makes sense, but wow what a mistake if so.
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These kind of incidents aren’t that uncommon, but we are just focusing on them because of the nature of the major commercial accident in January.
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https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/private-jet-plane-crashes
Interesting article about the (relative) lack of safety if you fly on private jets.
Fancy fliers are creating a huge boom in private-jet travel, no longer the exclusive province of Fortune 500 companies, Donald Trump, or Taylor Swift. Yet for all the allure of flying private, it’s a rather dangerous luxury.
