Thu, Jan 29, 2009
Plane Crashed On ILS Approach To Downwind Runway
The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a team
to investigate Tuesday's downing of an ATR-42 operated by Empire
Airlines for FedEx.
As ANN reported, the twin-turboprop aircraft
(similar to type shown above) crashed on approach to Lubbock, TX.
The two crewmembers were able to exit the aircraft before it caught
fire, with only minor injuries.
According to the NTSB, the facts of the accident are this: At
about 5:00 am CST Tuesday, January 27, 2009, Empire Airlines flight
8284, operating a FedEx-owned ATR-42 (N902FX), crashed 300 feet
short of the threshold while on an Instrument Landing System (ILS)
approach to Runway 17 at Lubbock Preston Smith International
Airport. (The NTSB doesn't specify whether the accident runway
was 17L or 17R, though presumably it was the latter. Runway 17L is
2,900 feet; 17R is 11,500 in length --
Ed.)
The plane was arriving from Fort Worth, TX. The aircraft
was destroyed by crash forces and a post-impact fire.
Weather at the time was reported as overcast ceiling at 500 feet
above ground level, visibility 2 miles with light freezing drizzle
and mist, and wind 020 degrees at 11 knots... meaning the plane was
landing with a moderate tailwind.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be
removed from the wreckage and shipped to the NTSB's laboratories in
Washington, DC.
Senior Air Safety Investigator Leah Yeager is the
Investigator-in-Charge of the NTSB team. Joining the investigation
are representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration;
FedEx; Empire Airlines; the French aviation accident investigative
authority, the BEA; Avions de Transport Regional (ATR); and Pratt
& Whitney Engines.
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