Continental Express Flight 2574
| Continental Express Flight 2574 | |
|---|---|
 The remains of N33701 |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Structural failure due to incorrect maintenance |
| place |
Colorado County , Texas , United States
|
| date | September 11, 1991 |
| Fatalities | 14 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Embraer EMB 120 |
| operator | Continental Express (operated by Britt Airways, Inc. ) |
| Mark | N33701 |
| Departure airport |
Laredo International Airport , Texas , United States
|
| Destination airport |
Houston Intercontinental Airport , Texas, United States
|
| Passengers | 11 |
| crew | 3 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On September 11, 1991, an accident Embraer EMB 120 of Britt Airways , focusing on the Continental Express flight 2574 from Laredo to Houston was. All 14 occupants were killed in the crash. Since the crash was accompanied by a strong fire on the ground, according to eyewitnesses, the media speculated about a bomb explosion in flight, which the National Transportation Safety Board could rule out. The cause was the incorrect and improper maintenance on the left horizontal stabilizer .
Plane and crew
The Embraer EMB 120 with the serial number: 120-L77 was manufactured in 1988, three years before the accident, and had 7,229 flight hours in 10,009 flights behind it. The Federal Aviation Administration determined that the aircraft had been serviced 33 times.
The crew consisted of the 29-year-old pilot Brad Patridge from Kingwood , Texas and the 43-year-old Clint Rodosovich from Houston as the first officer. Both were experienced pilots with 4,243 flight hours and 11,543 flight hours respectively.
Flight history
The plane took off from Laredo International Airport at 9:09 a.m. After takeoff, Flight 2574 was assigned a cruising altitude at flight level 250 (25,000 feet - 7,620 m). The crew was later instructed to descend to flight level 240. At 9:48 a.m. the crew contacted the Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center and at 9:54 a.m. cleared to descend to 9,000 feet. At 10:03 a.m., at an altitude of approximately 11,800 feet and at a speed of 260 knots , the fin nose (front cover) of the left elevator tore off, pulling the aircraft steeply down and rolling over the left wing . The enormous g-forces made both pilots unconscious and the left wing tore off. At 10:04 a.m., the burning machine hit the ground.
The torn off fin nose could be recovered far from the crash site under an electric fence. She led the accident investigation authority to the cause of the crash due to serious maintenance deficiencies.
root cause
The NTSB criticized the fact that poor maintenance and insufficient control of compliance with recognized guidelines by the company management had led to the crash. The right fin nose had been serviced - removal, replacement of the de-icing mat and assembly - but not the left one due to a lack of time. However, the upper screws on the left fin nose had already been loosened and not tightened again. The maintenance management was not informed of this. Furthermore, no maintenance protocol was drawn up. The left fin nose was torn off due to a lack of attachment and an enormous draft at about 480 km / h.
filming
The accident was documented in 2011 in the fourth episode of season 11 under the title "Breakup Over Texas" or the German title "Crash over Texas" in the Canadian television series Mayday - Alarm im Cockpit .
source
- Aircraft Accident Report PB92-910405. (pdf) National Transportation Safety Board , July 21, 1992, accessed April 23, 2018 .
- Aviation Accident Final Report DCA91MA052. National Transportation Safety Board , December 9, 1993, accessed April 23, 2018 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Crash searchers find stabilizer / Discovery points to maintenance mix-up, not bomb. In: Houston Chronical. September 16, 1991, accessed April 23, 2018 .