Date: | Wednesday 10 July 1991 |
Time: | 18:12 |
Type: | Beechcraft C99 Commuter |
Owner/operator: | L'Express Airlines |
Registration: | N7217L |
MSN: | U-226 |
Year of manufacture: | 1984 |
Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-36 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 15 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | 11 km SW of Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM) -
United States of America
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Phase: | Approach |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Mobile Municipal Airport, AL (MOB/KMOB) |
Destination airport: | Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM/KBHM) |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:The Beechcraft took off from Mobile at 17:05 for the last leg of the New Orleans-Mobile-Birmingham flight. Weather was bad around the Birmingham airport as flight 508 approached. Three aircraft had diverted to another airport, a Piper Aerostar had landed prior to the accident, a Gates LearJet after the accident. The weather reported to the crew at 18:05 was 1100 feet overcast, 2,5 miles visibility, thunderstorm and rainshower wind 340/12 kts.
An upset occurred as the flight entered an area of thunderstorm activity. The aircraft rolled left and pitched up as the aircraft approached level flight with approx. 30deg of left bank. The aircraft then entered a stall (or a prestall buffet) and started to descend. The descent couldn't be arrested and the aircraft crashed into a residential area, destroying two homes and two automobiles.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The decision of the captain to initiate and continue an instrument approach into clearly identified thunderstorm activity, thunderstorm activity, resulting in a loss of control of the airplane from which the flight crew was unable to recover and subsequent collision with obstacles and the terrain."
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Report number: | NTSB/AAR-92-01 |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 7 months |
Download report: | Final report |
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Sources:
CNN
NTSB Safety Recommendations A-92-18 through -20
NTSB/AAR-92/01
Scramble Vol.13, nr.05
Location
Images:
photo (c) via Werner Fischdick; September 1985
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |