Pilots Really Struggling to Fly the Aircraft | "Need to put it down Asap!"

On August 14, 2025, a Cessna 560XL Citation Excel registered N802TD departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Moments after takeoff, the crew reported serious difficulty controlling the aircraft.

The pilot declared an emergency and told ATC that the aircraft's flight controls were giving him major problems. The crew requested a diversion to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, approximately nine miles away, because it offered a suitable runway for an immediate landing.

The radio traffic showed the crew concentrating on keeping the aircraft under control while simultaneously trying to reach the alternate airport. The pilot described the control problem in unusually direct terms and indicated that the aircraft had recently come out of maintenance.

The Citation reached Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and completed a hard landing on Runway 10L. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. Both pilots survived without injury.

The event was particularly serious because the control problem appeared immediately after takeoff, leaving little time to diagnose the problem while the aircraft was low. The crew therefore prioritized reaching a suitable runway rather than attempting a prolonged troubleshooting exercise in flight.

A later account of the radio exchange reported the pilot saying, I’m fighting this thing pretty seriously. The transmission conveys the physical workload involved, but it is not itself a technical finding.

The available preliminary material associated the problem with possible mis-rigging of the controls following maintenance. That explanation should remain identified as the reported/preliminary understanding rather than a final determination unless an official investigation establishes it.

The outcome demonstrates how quickly a flight-control problem can change the priorities of a flight. After takeoff, the crew had to maintain basic aircraft control, communicate the emergency and select a runway where the abnormal landing could be completed.

Accident Facts

Recorded line: “I’m fighting this thing pretty seriously.”

Sources

One Mile at a Time, August 19, 2025 — https://onemileatatime.com/news/wild-atc-audio-pilot-cant-control-aircraft/

the associated record — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NIiI4TZG-c

ASN 540899 — https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/540899