Embraer ERJ-145LR N16571

Summary

On 6 January 2003 at about 17:48 local time, a Embraer ERJ-145LR registered N16571, operated by ExpressJet Airlines Inc., was involved in an accident near Cleveland, Ohio, United States. 50 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 January 2003 at 17:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Cleveland-Hopkins Intl Arpt (CLE)

Coordinates

41.4458, -81.8425

Aircraft

Embraer ERJ-145LR

Registration

N16571

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

ExpressJet Airlines Inc.

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Windsor Locks → Cleveland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC03FA035

Nobody was injured.

The captain's failure to attain a proper touchdown on runway, and his subsequent failure to perform a go-around, both of which resulted in a runway overrun. Factors were the company's inadequate dispatch procedures with their failure to provide all NOTAMS for the airport to the flight crew, and the snow covered runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilots initiated an approach to runway 6L, which was snow covered, and had a useable landing distance of 6,000 feet. The last winds from the tower were 340 degrees at 22 kts, with gusts to 35 knots. The maximum demonstrated crosswind for the airplane was 30 knots. The ATIS contained runway condition data that was 1 hour old. Inside the final approach fix, the captain elected to land with the wing flaps set at 22 degrees, rather than 45 degrees due to the wind. The Vref was adjusted to 138 kts, however, the final 38 seconds of flight was above 138 kts, and the final 7 seconds of flight was above 150 kts. In the final eight seconds of flight, the radar altimeter was less than 15 feet. However, the pilot continued with the landing and did not go-around. Touchdown occurred at an airspeed of 150 kts, about 1,523 feet from the departure end of the runway, and 2,308 feet from the ILS localizer antenna, which the airplane struck after it overran the runway. According to the company flight manual, with flaps set at 22 degrees, and a wet runway, the actual landing distance would have been 4,260 feet. When interviewed, the flight crew reported they had not checked landing distance. The FAA had published a NOTAM 26 days prior to the accident, which raised the landing minimums for the runway from 4,000 ft RVR to 5,000 ft RVR. The NOTAM was not in the airline's data base, and the company had no backup method for determining if they had all NOTAMS. The last RVR transmitted to the flight crew was 4,000 ft. The local controller did not update the flight crew with the latest RVR, or braking action reports as required. There was no requirement for the local controller to notify the pilots that the airport was below landing minimums even though the controllers were required to be aware of the approach minimums.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.