ASN Aircraft accident Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III N622AV Raleigh/Durham Airport, NC (RDU)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 19 February 1988
Time:21:27
Type:Silhouette image of generic SW4 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III
Operated by:AVAir
On behalf of:American Eagle
Registration: N622AV
MSN: AC-622
First flight: 1985
Total airframe hrs:4222
Engines: 2 Garrett TPE331-11U-611G
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10
Total:Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1,5 km (0.9 mls) W of Raleigh/Durham Airport, NC (RDU) (   United States of America)
Phase: Initial climb (ICL)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Raleigh/Durham Airport, NC (RDU/KRDU), United States of America
Destination airport:Richmond International Airport (Byrd Field), VA (RIC/KRIC), United States of America
Flightnumber:AA3378
Narrative:
American Eagle flight 3378, operated by AVAir, crashed shortly after it departed runway 23R at Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU), North Carolina, USA. The airplane Fairchild Metro III struck water within 100 feet of the shoreline of a reservoir, about 5100 feet west of the midpoint of runway 23R. The airplane was destroyed and all 12 persons on board were killed.

Probable Cause:

On December 13, 1988, the Safety Board determined the probable cause of the accident as follows: "The failure of the flight crew to maintain a proper flight path because of the first officer's inappropriate instrument scan, the captain's inadequate monitoring of the flight, and the flight crew's response to a perceived fault in the airplane's stall avoidance system (SAS). Contributing to the accident was the lack of company response to documented indications of difficulties in the first officer's piloting, and inadequate Federal Aviation Administration surveillance of AVAir."
Then-Board Members John K . Lauber and Joseph T. Nall provided concurring and dissenting statements in which they proposed that the probable cause should read as follows: "The failure of the flightcrew to maintain a proper flightpath in response to an actual or perceived fault in the airplane's stall avoidance system. Contributing to the accident were ineffective management and supervision of flightcrew training and flight operations, and ineffective FAA surveillance of AVAir."

On January 28, 1993, the Air Line Pilots Association's (ALPA) filed a petition for reconsideration and modification of the findings and probable cause. The NTSB granted the petition in part. The probable cause and was modified to read as follows:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a failure of the flight crew to maintain a proper flightpath. Contributing to the accident were the ineffective management and supervision of flight crew training and flight operations, and ineffective FAA surveillance of AVAir."

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 298 days (10 months)
Accident number: NTSB/AAR-88-10
Download report: Final report

Sources:
» ICAO Adrep Summary 6/89 (#22)
» NTSB/AAR-88/10
» NTSB Response to Petition for Reconsideration


Follow-up / safety actions

NTSB issued 5 Safety Recommendations

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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Raleigh/Durham Airport, NC to Richmond International Airport (Byrd Field), VA as the crow flies is 222 km (139 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Metro

  • 684 built
  • 21st loss
  • 9th fatal accident
  • 3rd worst accident (at the time)
  • 5th worst accident (currently)
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