General Dynamics shares down after jet crash

ATLANTA (Reuters) - General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) shares fell more than 6 percent on Monday after a weekend crash of a flight-test aircraft of its Gulfstream business jet unit killed four people.

The G650, a luxury, high-speed business jet, crashed Saturday during takeoff performance tests in Roswell, New Mexico, killing two pilots and two flight-test engineers, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp said.

Morgan Keegan analyst Brian Ruttenbur called the incident a "significant negative" for General Dynamics in a note to clients and cited the potential for more weakness as more information is disclosed amid an investigation by Gulfstream and U.S. aviation and safety agencies.

The next-generation G650 had been expected to complete certification in the next several months, with first deliveries to customers set for 2012, Ruttenbur added.

Shares of General Dynamics, which also makes ships and tanks, were down $5.17, or 6.7 percent, to $72.25 in morning trading.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs)