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| Date: | Wednesday 29 December 2004 |
| Time: | 14:30 LT |
| Type: |  Bombardier CRJ-701ER |
| Owner/operator: | Mesa Airlines |
| Registration: | N506MJ |
| MSN: | 10073 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Engine model: | General Electric CF34-8C1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 60 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Austin, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TX (AUS/KAUS) |
| Washington-Dulles International Airport, DC (IAD/KIAD) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During the takeoff roll, both flight attendants observed a haze in the cabin. As the airplane rotated and began to climb, the haze thickened. At approximately 500 feet above ground level (agl), the smoke detector in the rear lavatory sounded, the "smoke toilet" message was displayed in the cockpit, and a strong odor of smoke was present. The captain declared an emergency and returned to the airport. According to a statement provided by the flight attendants, after a safe and uneventful landing, the captain ordered an emergency evacuation utilizing the airplane's four exits. A passenger exited the airplane through a window exit and fractured a bone in her right foot. Company maintenance personnel examined the airplane and "found that an air conditioning pack that had failed," which would have resulted in a haze in the cabin.
Probable Cause: The failure of an air conditioning pack, which resulted in a haze filling the cabin. A contributing factor was the failure of the passenger to follow evacuation instructions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DFW05LA047
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 19 September 2008 | N506MJ | Mesa Airlines | 0 | Allentown-Lehigh Valley International Airport, PA (ABE/KABE) | |
non |
| 29 January 2014 | N506MJ | United Express, opb Mesa Airlines | 0 | Wilmington-New Castle Airport, DE (ILG/KILG) | |
non |
| Loss of pressurization | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2024 09:41 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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