Embraer EMB-145LR N601DW

Summary

On 28 June 2010 at about 22:52 local time, a Embraer EMB-145LR registered N601DW, operated by American Eagle Airlines Inc, was involved in an accident near Pioneer, Louisiana, United States. 45 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, 3 had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 2010 at 22:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Pioneer, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

32.7315, -91.4329

Aircraft

Embraer EMB-145LR

Registration

N601DW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

American Eagle Airlines Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greensboro → Dallas

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

IMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

CEN10LA363

2 people were seriously injured.

The inadvertent encounter with convective weather during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew's failure to detect and avoid the thunderstorm cell earlier in the flight, and the failure of air traffic controllers to provide the convective weather information to the flight crew.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial flight was cruising at an altitude of 38,000 feet when the flight crew made a public announcement to the passengers (and a separate call to the flight attendant) that they may encounter turbulence, and the fasten seatbelt sign was turned on. The captain said they entered clouds and the flight was smooth for about 10 minutes when they noticed a very small red return (thunderstorm cell)on the radar about 5 miles in front of them. The crew did not have enough time to take evasive action and they penetrated the cell, encountering moderate rain with a strong updraft followed by one instance of a severe downdraft. The autopilot disengaged and the captain assumed control of the airplane. Shortly after, the flight attendant called on the interphone and said that she was assisting an elderly passenger in the lavatory when the upset occurred and they were both seriously injured. The captain immediately declared an emergency and landed without further incident. Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR) imagery identified a discrete cell of strong reflectivity values coincident with the airplane's position at the time of the turbulence event. A review of recorded weather data from two separate air traffic control centers handling the flight showed that moderate to extreme intensity precipitation existed ahead of the airplane for an extended period. However, the controllers did not recall seeing any displayed precipitation in the accident location, although they did recall seeing precipitation in other locations around the area. Review of display settings in use by the controllers showed no reason that the weather would not have been displayed, and there was no indication of a system malfunction. Review of ATC communications between the controllers and the flight crew revealed there were no discussions of the precipitation and thunderstorm activity ahead of the flight as required per Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order 7110.65, paragraph 2-6-4, "Weather and Chaff Services."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.