Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529
Encyclopedia
Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, registration N256AS, was an Embraer Brasilia
aircraft that crashed near Carrollton, Georgia
on August 21, 1995 while on a flight from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport
in Gulfport, Mississippi
. Nine of the 29 passengers and crew on board eventually died due to injuries suffered in the accident. The accident had similarities with another one that happened four years earlier with another Brasilia and serving with ASA
, which finished with catastrophic results for the passengers and crew members. The investigations of both accidents concluded with a verdict: a design flaw in the propellers.
on March 3, 1989. Before the fatal flight it had made 18,171 cycles (one cycle can be roughly defined as one flight).
were also on the aircraft.
at 12:23. At 12:43:25 and climbing through 18,100 feet, the occupants of the aircraft heard a thud which Matt Warmerdam, the co-pilot, described as sounding like a baseball bat striking an aluminum trash can. One of the blades of the Hamilton Standard
propeller
on the left engine had failed and the entire assembly had become dislodged, deforming the engine nacelle
and distorting the wing's profile.
Although the EMB 120, like all transport category, multi-engine airplanes is designed to fly with one engine inoperative, the distortion of the engine resulted in excessive drag
and loss of lift
on the left side of the aircraft, causing it to rapidly lose altitude.
The Captain, Ed Gannaway, and his First Officer, Matt Warmerdam, initially tried to return to Atlanta for an emergency landing but the rapid descent resulted in them being diverted to West Georgia Regional Airport
. The airplane was unable to stay in the air that long and the pilots began searching for an open space to make a crash landing on the aircraft's belly. At 12:52:45 the airplane struck the tops of the trees and crashed into a field in Carroll County, Georgia
near the farming community of Burwell and the city of Carrollton.
.
The fire, which started about one minute after impact, killed Gannaway, who had been knocked unconscious in the crash landing. The oxygen bottle behind the copilot seat later ignited, contributing to the strength of the fire. Warmerdam, bearing a dislocated shoulder, sustained burns as he used his left hand to hold an axe and cut through the thick cockpit glass. David McCorkell, a surviving passenger, pulled the axe out of the cockpit through a hole and struck the glass in order to increase the size of the hole and help Warmerdam escape. The emergency crews pulled Warmerdam out of the aircraft.
In addition to the captain, seven passengers died as a result of the crash and subsequent fire, including three who died within thirty days of the crash; bringing the official death toll to eight. A ninth victim died four months after the crash from severe burn injuries. None of the passengers or crew escaped uninjured; eight had minor injuries.
Many of the passengers suffered survivor's guilt; some believed that they should have assisted passengers
Mary Jean Adair, one of the survivors, died of a heart attack eight weeks after the crash; she was included in a dedication to the people killed by the crash in a memorial service at an elementary school gymnasium some years later.
in one blade resulting from corrosion from chlorine. There had been two previous failures of the same type of propeller, but those aircraft had been able to land safely. The failed propeller blade had undergone scheduled ultrasonic testing on May 19, 1994, which resulted in its rejection and removal from the propeller. The blade was sent to a Hamilton Standard facility, where it was subject to refurbishing work that was incorrectly performed. The propeller blade was then installed on the propeller fitted to the aircraft on September 30, 1994.
The National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) criticized Hamilton Standard, who had maintained the propellers, for "inadequate and ineffective corporate inspection and repair techniques, training, documentation and communication", and both Hamilton and the Federal Aviation Administration
for "failure to require recurrent on-wing ultrasonic inspections for the affected propellers". The overcast skies and low cloud ceiling at the crash site also contributed to the severity of the crash.
The area residents built a memorial to the crash at the Shiloh United Methodist church, near Burwell.
Many surviving passengers credited Robin Fech, the flight attendant
, with saving their lives. Tanner Medical Center treated Fech's broken wrist and other lacerations before releasing her. The Georgia State Senate passed a resolution honoring Fech. The NTSB accident report commended "the exemplary manner in which the flight attendant briefed the passengers and handled the emergency". However, Dawn Dumm cried futilely out to Fech, who was with other passengers in the hayfield, to help her and her mother Adair. Dumm initially criticized Fech; later she reasoned that Fech could not hear her screams and/or did not see her in the smoke. In addition Fech was proven to have been assisting passengers during that moment in the hayfield. Fech stated that she felt upset by Dumm's criticism. Fech never worked as a flight attendant after the ASA 529 disaster.
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
aircraft that crashed near Carrollton, Georgia
Carrollton, Georgia
Carrollton is a city in West Georgia, United States, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,388...
on August 21, 1995 while on a flight from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport
Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport
-Hurricane Katrina:The airport was closed for repairs following severe damage by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. On September 8, 2005, the airport reopened for commercial flights on Northwest Airlines to Memphis and other airlines quickly followed suit. On February 1, 2006, Gulfport-Biloxi...
in Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
. Nine of the 29 passengers and crew on board eventually died due to injuries suffered in the accident. The accident had similarities with another one that happened four years earlier with another Brasilia and serving with ASA
Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311
Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 was a regularly scheduled commuter flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Brunswick, Georgia which suffered an uncontrolled collision with terrain during landing approach to Glynco Jetport , just north of Brunswick, on April 5, 1991. The aircraft was an Embraer...
, which finished with catastrophic results for the passengers and crew members. The investigations of both accidents concluded with a verdict: a design flaw in the propellers.
Aircraft
The aircraft had been delivered to Atlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
on March 3, 1989. Before the fatal flight it had made 18,171 cycles (one cycle can be roughly defined as one flight).
Passengers
Business travelers, ranging from 18 to 69 years of age, formed most of the aircraft's passengers. Six engineers, two deputy sheriffs, two air force personnel, a minister, and a New Orleans woman planning to become a flight attendantFlight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
were also on the aircraft.
Accident
Flight 529 left the ramp area at Atlanta at 12:10, and took offTakeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...
at 12:23. At 12:43:25 and climbing through 18,100 feet, the occupants of the aircraft heard a thud which Matt Warmerdam, the co-pilot, described as sounding like a baseball bat striking an aluminum trash can. One of the blades of the Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard, an aircraft propeller parts supplier, was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller Corporation. Other members of the corporation included Boeing,...
propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
on the left engine had failed and the entire assembly had become dislodged, deforming the engine nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
and distorting the wing's profile.
Although the EMB 120, like all transport category, multi-engine airplanes is designed to fly with one engine inoperative, the distortion of the engine resulted in excessive drag
Drag (physics)
In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
and loss of lift
Lift (force)
A fluid flowing past the surface of a body exerts a surface force on it. Lift is the component of this force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. It contrasts with the drag force, which is the component of the surface force parallel to the flow direction...
on the left side of the aircraft, causing it to rapidly lose altitude.
The Captain, Ed Gannaway, and his First Officer, Matt Warmerdam, initially tried to return to Atlanta for an emergency landing but the rapid descent resulted in them being diverted to West Georgia Regional Airport
West Georgia Regional Airport
West Georgia Regional Airport , also known as O. V. Gray Field, is a public use airport located five nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Carrollton, in Carroll County, Georgia, United States. It is owned by the West Georgia Airport Authority.Although most U.S...
. The airplane was unable to stay in the air that long and the pilots began searching for an open space to make a crash landing on the aircraft's belly. At 12:52:45 the airplane struck the tops of the trees and crashed into a field in Carroll County, Georgia
Carroll County, Georgia
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 87,268. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 111,954...
near the farming community of Burwell and the city of Carrollton.
Casualties
All of the passengers and crew aboard Flight 529 survived the initial impact; the fatalities were caused by a post-crash fireFire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
.
The fire, which started about one minute after impact, killed Gannaway, who had been knocked unconscious in the crash landing. The oxygen bottle behind the copilot seat later ignited, contributing to the strength of the fire. Warmerdam, bearing a dislocated shoulder, sustained burns as he used his left hand to hold an axe and cut through the thick cockpit glass. David McCorkell, a surviving passenger, pulled the axe out of the cockpit through a hole and struck the glass in order to increase the size of the hole and help Warmerdam escape. The emergency crews pulled Warmerdam out of the aircraft.
In addition to the captain, seven passengers died as a result of the crash and subsequent fire, including three who died within thirty days of the crash; bringing the official death toll to eight. A ninth victim died four months after the crash from severe burn injuries. None of the passengers or crew escaped uninjured; eight had minor injuries.
Many of the passengers suffered survivor's guilt; some believed that they should have assisted passengers
Mary Jean Adair, one of the survivors, died of a heart attack eight weeks after the crash; she was included in a dedication to the people killed by the crash in a memorial service at an elementary school gymnasium some years later.
Probable cause
The probable cause of the accident was determined to be the failure of the propeller due to undiscovered metal fatigueMetal Fatigue
Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:...
in one blade resulting from corrosion from chlorine. There had been two previous failures of the same type of propeller, but those aircraft had been able to land safely. The failed propeller blade had undergone scheduled ultrasonic testing on May 19, 1994, which resulted in its rejection and removal from the propeller. The blade was sent to a Hamilton Standard facility, where it was subject to refurbishing work that was incorrectly performed. The propeller blade was then installed on the propeller fitted to the aircraft on September 30, 1994.
The National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
(NTSB) criticized Hamilton Standard, who had maintained the propellers, for "inadequate and ineffective corporate inspection and repair techniques, training, documentation and communication", and both Hamilton and the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
for "failure to require recurrent on-wing ultrasonic inspections for the affected propellers". The overcast skies and low cloud ceiling at the crash site also contributed to the severity of the crash.
Aftermath
The Military Fraternal Organization of Pilots awarded Warmerdam its medallion for his role in the disaster after treatment for burns. In 2002, after an estimated 50 surgeries and lengthy therapy, he was able to resume flying for ASA. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons honored his positive attitude during the long recovery with one of their “Patients of Courage: Triumph Over Adversity” awards in 2005.The area residents built a memorial to the crash at the Shiloh United Methodist church, near Burwell.
Many surviving passengers credited Robin Fech, the flight attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
, with saving their lives. Tanner Medical Center treated Fech's broken wrist and other lacerations before releasing her. The Georgia State Senate passed a resolution honoring Fech. The NTSB accident report commended "the exemplary manner in which the flight attendant briefed the passengers and handled the emergency". However, Dawn Dumm cried futilely out to Fech, who was with other passengers in the hayfield, to help her and her mother Adair. Dumm initially criticized Fech; later she reasoned that Fech could not hear her screams and/or did not see her in the smoke. In addition Fech was proven to have been assisting passengers during that moment in the hayfield. Fech stated that she felt upset by Dumm's criticism. Fech never worked as a flight attendant after the ASA 529 disaster.
Books and documentaries
- The disaster was featured on MaydayMayday (TV series)Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia and Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the United States, is a Canadian documentary television programme produced by Cineflix investigating air crashes, near-crashes and other disasters...
(Air Crash Investigation, Air Emergency) in the episode "Wounded Bird" (also known in some countries as "A Wounded Bird" and "One Wing Flight"). - A book on the disaster, Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds: The Tragedy & Triumph of ASA Flight 529 by Gary M. PomerantzGary M. PomerantzGary M. Pomerantz is an American author and journalist who serves as a visiting lecturer in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. His fourth and newest book, "The Devil’s Tickets" , is a true-crime thriller set in a bygone age when the card game of bridge was all the rage...
, was written in 2001.
External links
. Includes CVR transcript.- Article describing the crash and aftermath
- Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds excerpt
- The Power of Emergency Training - An article about Robin Fech's role
- Three dead in Georgia commuter crash CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- Heroic flight attendant returns to Georgia crash site CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- "Fear of flying" - book review in ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
- Photos of the ASA 529 Memorial in Burwell