ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 40237
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 April 1994 |
| Time: | 22:56 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Action Air Charters |
| Registration: | N990RA |
| MSN: | 31-7405417 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Engine model: | LYCOMING TIO-540-J2BD |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR/KBDR), CT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Atlantic City International Airport, NJ (KACY) |
| Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport, CT (BDR/KBDR) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was destroyed by impact and post impact fire when it overran on landing on runway 06 at Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR/KBDR), Connecticut, and collided with a blast fence at the end of the runway. The accident happened in darkness, just before midnight, and in poor weather with less than 0.25 miles visibility in variable ground fog, sky obscured and cloud base 2,700 feet, wind 250 degrees at 4 knots.
The aircraft was operating a charter flight from Atlantic City. On arrival in the Stratford area, although the pilot had selected the Runway 06 ILS frequency it be believed that he elected to carry out a visual approach. The aircraft was 'high' during the final part of the approach and it is thought possible that the pilot may have been deliberately aiming to touchdown some way down the runway in order to avoid the first 1,500ft which was describes as 'uneven' on the Jeppesen chart.
The aircraft eventually touched down some 3,500 feet beyond the threshold of Runway 06 with a slight tailwind and struck the blast fence at an estimated 69 knot The NTSB determined that the probable causes of the accident were the failure of the captain to use the available ILS glide scope, his failure to execute a go-around when the condition were not suitable for landing, and his failure to land the aircraft on the runway at a point sufficient to allow for a safe stopping distance; the fatalities were caused by the presence of the non frangible blast fence and the absence of a safety area at the end of the runway.
Following the accident the NTSB issued two Class I Urgent Action Safety Recommendations asking the FAA to investigate the activities of the company that refurbished the aircraft's interior. The NTSB's initial investigation reportedly discovered 'numerous safety belt and seat frame attachment anomalies on almost every seat'. The interior of the aircraft which crashed and others in Action Air's fleet had reportedly recently been refurbished by Harrington Industries of Aiken, South Carolina which is said not to be an FAA approved repair station.
Probable Cause: The failure of the captain to use the available ILS glideslope, his failure to execute a go-around when conditions were not suitable for landing, and his failure to land the airplane at a point sufficient to allow for a safe stopping distance; the fatalities were caused by the presence of the non-frangible blast fence and the absence of a safety area at the end of the runway.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/DCA94MA053.aspx https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/Results.aspx?queryId=43ba8973-1fdd-4e11-a862-0f81a66823be
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=990RA
Images:
(c) NTSB
(c) NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 17-Dec-2008 12:06 | harro | Updated |
| 17-Dec-2008 12:06 | harro | Updated |
| 17-Dec-2008 12:08 | harro | Updated |
| 21-Jun-2015 22:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 13-Sep-2017 16:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Sep-2017 16:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 15-Feb-2020 18:58 | harro | Updated [Source, Accident report, ] |
| 12-Oct-2022 03:14 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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