Company, FAA working on Gulfstream IV jet fail-safe problem
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The manufacturer of the jet that crashed on takeoff in Massachusetts last year, killing the co-owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer and six other people, has reported a problem with a fail-safe system that can allow the planes to reach high speeds on the runway even if they are prevented from taking off.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. said in a document released by the National Transportation Safety Board that the Gulfstream IV has an interlock system that is supposed to keep the plane's throttle from being moved past 6 degrees, thereby limiting acceleration, while hinged tail sections, called elevators, are immobilized.