Spokane Airlines Flight 40

A chartered Embrear Legacy 600 leased by Spokane Airlines crashed into Billings, Montana, on January 4th. 2027. The Flight, which had been trying to land at Billings International Airport, was lost in a dense fog surrounding the city. The flight's five passengers, all women, survived with severe injures. The crash killed the lone, under-qualified pilot and 35 people on the ground, resulting in damage to numerous downtown buildings. It was one of the worst air disasters in Montana's history.

### Aircraft

* Embrear Legacy 600
* Registration NB40600
* Built in 2019

### Events

Five women celebrating a late New Years Day and a promotion boarded the Embrear Legacy 600, leased to Spokane Airlines. The plane departed smoothly from the Spokane International Airport at 9am local time, hitting a turbulent snow flurry over Wallace, Idaho before experiencing smooth flight until Missoula, Montana.

Captain Jamaal Fresh-Kingly, the only pilot on board, requested landing clearance at 1020am, but received no reply from Billings ATC for six minutes. He repeatedly called the control tower, growing increasingly concerned, until the controller contacted him and ordered him to make a right turn at heading 50. Unbeknownst to Fresh-Kingly, he had inadvertently disengaged the autopilot, causing a loss of altitude. The ATC, at the same time, was having radar issues. Fresh-Kingly realized he was heading straight towards the control tower and yanked the aircraft to the right, confused by the lack of airspeed and altitude.

The pilot attempted to ascend, but in his panic, he decreased engine thrust instead of increasing it. He aligned the jet with North 27th Street and successfully touched down at 160 miles per hour, but was unable to slow the aircraft down due to snow and ice on the road.

The plane's right wing slashed through a low office, causing the plane to spin to the right while sliding down the street. The left wing struck a city bus, and the weight of the plane sent it over the destroyed bus onto its back. Almost everyone in the bus was killed, and three people survived. The nose of the plane smashed against another building, killing the pilot. The left engine detached and slid farther ahead, before the plane came to rest near a parking garage in Downtown Billings. The detached engine crashed into the parking garage and blew up, causing the west side of it to collapse. A skybridge connecting the garage to an office block collapsed shortly afterwards, killing three people.

### Aftermath

The five passengers survived with serious injuries. Mae Anderson lost one of her legs in the crash. Sameera Jalal-Guzman recalled freeing her wife, Maria Guzman, from her seat with help from Kaiya Suzumiya. The two women later moved Mae Anderson to safety, before Kaiya sought a damaged nearby pharmacy for help and supplies. A pharmacist aided Sameera in removing a piece of debris from Maria's abdomen.

Sameera suffered a collasped lung and broken ribs. Kaiya Suzumiya and Sharma Kulkarni needed to be hospitalized for head injuries and ruptures slpeen, respectively.

### Investigation

The NTSB arrived in Billings the next morning to determine the cause of the crash, visting the two married women in the hospital to gather their memories of the crash. They both reported hearing the pilot scream in fear, then seeing buildings out the window.

Weather records showed a snow flurry right on top of Billings. The control tower's radar was experiencing electrical isssues and had to be repaired at the time. The controllers in the tower were obligated to shut the airport down and divert traffic to Great Falls, but did not do so. Snow plow crews were on an unusually long break, resulting in an icy runway, where a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 slid off the runway earlier in the morning.

Investigators dug into Jamaal Fresh-Kingly's lack of awareness and determining he had been distracted by his attempts to reach the controllers. The cockpit voice recorder picked up numerous hushed expletives as the overwhelmed, frustrated pilot muttered under his breath. He did not notice he was flying towards the control tower itself until five seconds before he would have hit it.

Records into the charter company, Provolone Limited, revealed a rough career for Jamaal Fresh-Kingly, who was reported to be rebellious, impulsive, and uncoordinated. Fresh-Kingly had had to retake his written exam five times. He barely passed the flight test. And on the day of the flight, his intended copilot, Rodney Krasnik, had called in for a family emergency.

Provolone Limited leased all their planes exclusively to Spokane Airlines. The airline had a history of inadequate pilots, and had four other incidents with planes that narrowly avoided disaster, with injuries in each incident. Records of incidents from 1996, 2004, 2015, and 2023 had been destroyed. Investigators traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the base of Provolone Limited, to obtain more records of insubordination and senior abuse of copilots.

Provolone Limited was fined 10-million USD on June 20, 2027, coinciding with Sameera's birthday, awarding three-million to Fresh-Kingly's wife, Nicola Fresh, and their two daughters. The fines also awarded one-million to each of the flight's five survivors. Spokane Airlines was fined eight-million dollars, most of which went to wage increases, improved pilot training, and a new Embrear Legacy 600.

Two air traffic controllers were sentenced to two years on prison for negligent homicide, but they were both released early on a reduced sentence. Provolone Limited CEO Kurt Bonnie was charged with evidence tampering and assault and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Provolone Limited attempted a name change to Riesta Charters in August 2027, but was forced to declare bankruptcy. The office building that headquartered the charter company now operates to a wellness center for troubled teens in Milwaukee.

Sameera and Maria made full recoveries and returned to their home in Spokane. Mae and Sharma were hospitalized for two months, but were able to recover and return to Spokane. Kaiya Suzumiya recovered fully and became a 911 operator in Seattle.

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