Allegheny Commuter incident at Middletown
| Allegheny Commuter incident at Middletown | |
|---|---|
 A Shorts 330 in the painting of the Allegheny Commuter similar to the disaster machine |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Suicide of a passenger |
| place |
Middletown (Dauphin County, Pennsylvania) , United States
|
| date | October 28, 1983 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 29 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
 Shorts 330
|
| operator |
Pennsylvania Airlines for Allegheny Commuter
|
| Mark |
N26288
|
| Departure airport |
Harrisburg International Airport , Pennsylvania , United States
|
| Destination airport |
Washington , Virginia Airport , United States
|
| Passengers | 27 |
| crew | 3 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The Pennsylvania Airlines incident at Middletown occurred on October 28, 1983 aboard a Shorts 330 on a regional flight of the Allegheny Commuter from Harrisburg , Pennsylvania to Washington, DC , when a passenger committed suicide by jumping from more than 1,000 meters during the initial climb .
plane
The machine concerned was a British-made Shorts 330 . The machine had the factory number SH3074 and made its maiden flight on June 24th. The twin-engine regional transport aircraft was equipped with two turboprop -Triebwerken type Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45R equipped. The machine was initially delivered to Atlanta Express on August 12, 1981 , where General Electric Capital Corp. in Stamford , Connecticut with the air vehicle registration number N26288 was operated. From August 1982 the machine was leased to Pennsylvania Airlines , which operated regional flights on behalf of Allegheny Commuter . At the time of the accident, the aircraft was operating for 3005 hours.
Passengers and crew
The machine was to be used on a regional flight from Harrisburg International Airport to Washington, DC . There was a three-person crew on board, consisting of the master, first officer and a flight attendant. For the flight, 27 passengers were seated in the machine. At take-off, it was controlled by a 27-year-old pilot who had 6,472 hours of flight experience and 2,310 hours of experience on the Shorts 330.
the accident
Before the flight, an aircraft refueling attendant saw a man standing at the end of the line while boarding. He asked him where he was going. The man replied that he was going to Washington DC or somewhere in between.
When the man boarded the plane, he addressed the flight attendant by first name, pointed to a seat near the right back door and asked to be allowed to sit there. The flight attendant complied with the man's request.
The departure from Harrisburg was uneventful. During the initial climb, when the aircraft had reached an altitude of 3500 feet (approximately 1060 meters), the flight attendant heard a loud, dull noise from the rear of the aircraft. One passenger shouted, “Oh my god, he jumped!” It turned out that the man had got up in flight, opened the door and committed suicide by jumping out of the plane. After the jump, the door of the machine remained partially open because one of the man's shoes remained wedged in the doorway.
The plane remained undamaged and was able to return to the airport safely.
Identity of the man
The suicide was 26-year-old Wilmer Stillman. Allegheny Commuter Vice President Les Ehringer stated that Stillman had previously worked as a mechanic with the airline since September 1982 and quit his job just hours before his jump, citing personal reasons. At the time when Stillman got up while the plane was climbing and opened the door, he should not have made a frustrated or nervous impression.
Sources and Links
- Man steps out of plane at 3,000 feet , United Press International, October 30, 1983.
- Accident report , National Transportation Safety Board
- Incident data in the Aviation Safety Network
- Operating history of the machine on rzjets.net