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| Date: | Monday 4 April 1994 |
| Time: | 18:15 LT |
| Type: |  Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III |
| Owner/operator: | Skywest Airlines |
| Registration: | N174SW |
| MSN: | AC-620 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1985 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 19936 hours |
| Engine model: | GARRETT TPE 331-11 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 12 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Ontario, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) |
| Yuma, AZ (KYUM) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was climbing at 1,000 feet per minute to a cruising altitude of 21,000 feet. Passing 19,800 feet, a loud 'bang' was heard and the captain was partially sucked through the broken left side window. After about 4 seconds, he was able to pull himself back into the aircraft unassisted. He declared an emergency and landed the aircraft without further incident. A review of the maintenance records revealed that an applicable airworthiness directive requiring an inspection of the windows was complied with within the last 143.8 flight hours. The technical representative for Fairchild stated that maintenance personnel who conducted the AD inspection and service bulletin inspections may have failed to detect the crack, due to the subtle inspection procedures employed. The approved inspection procedures allow for two methods: 1) removal of the outer frame retainer for direct viewing of the screw holes, and 2) using a 90-degree prism seated in mineral oil for an indirect view of the screw holes. The airline was using the second method.
Probable Cause: the failure of maintenance personnel to detect a crack in the windscreen which exceeded the operational limits for pressurized flight. A factor in the accident was the inadequacy of the inspection method published by the manufacturer.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX94IA181
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 April 2002 | EC-GKR | Tadair | 2 | Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) |  |
w/o |
| Loss of control | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Mar-2024 09:33 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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