1989 — Dec 1, Plane Crash, US Army CASA 212, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD– 5
–5 ASN. Accident descrip. USA CASA C-212 Aviocar 200, Dec 1989, Patuxent Riv. NAS MD
–5 Baugher, Joseph F. 1988 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-26-2011 revision.
–5 NTSB. Safety Recommendation letter to Federal Aviation Administration. 12-19-1990.
Narrative Information
ASN:
“Time: ca 09:30….
“First flight: 1983-02-18 (6 years 10 months)
“Crew: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5….
“Total: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5….
“Departure airport: Fort Belvoir-Davison AAF, VA…
“Destination airport: Patuxent River NAS, MD…
“Narrative:
“The crash occurred shortly before as the plane was preparing to land at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The crew had been conducting tests of tracking equipment during the short flight from Davison Army Air Field at Fort Belvoir. The plane crashed sank into the water about 50 yards off shore from the Naval Air Station, in 45 feet deep water.
“Reportedly, this aircraft crashed because the flight crew inadvertently selected “beta range” on the propellers at 800 feet. The aircraft then stalled and crashed into the river. The CASA aircraft was owned by the US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) and carried both a military (88-0320) as well as civilian (N296CA) registration marks.”[1] (Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Army, CASA C-212 Aviocar 200, 1989, Dec 1, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD.)
Baugher: “CASA 212 Spanish registry EC-DHO. Operated as N296CA by US Army for special electronic reconnaissance project – w/o Dec 1, 1989, at Patuxent River NAS. Five crew killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1988 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-26-2011 revision.)
NTSB: “On December 1, 1989, a Construcciones Aeronauticas, S. A. (CASA) C-212 operated by the U.S. Army crashed while on approach to Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland. The five crewmembers were fatally injured. The U.S. Army Safety Center investigation of the accident is continuing. Preliminary indications by the Army Safety Center team are that the airplane’s propellers may have been placed in the beta mode[2] before impact.
“The Safety Board has investigated two similar fatal accidents involving the CASA C-212:
On March 4, 1987, a Northwest Airlink flight crashed at the Detroit-Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan. Of the 19 persons on board, 9 were killed. The Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was ‘the captain’s inability to control the airplane in an attempt to recover from an asymmetric power condition at low speed following his intentional use of the beta mode of propeller operation to descend and slow the airplane rapidly on final approach for landing.’…. [page 1]
“….the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration:
Issue an Airworthiness Directive applicable to the CASA C-212, to require the design and installation of a system that provides a positive means of preventing the power levers from being placed below the flight idle position while the airplane is airborne…. [page 3]
(NTSB. Safety Recommendation letter to Federal Aviation Administration. 12-19-1990, 4 pages.
Sources
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Army, CASA C-212 Aviocar 200, 1989, Dec 1, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD. Accessed 3-14-2012 at:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19891201-0
Baugher, Joseph F. 1988 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-26-2011 revision. Accessed 3-14-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1988.html
National Transportation Safety Board. Safety Recommendation letter to Federal Aviation Administration (re. CASA crash, Patuxent River NAS MD, 12-1-1989). Washington, DC: NTSB, 12-19-1990, 4 pages. Accessed 5-9-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A90_181_182.pdf
[1] Cites: Scramble, Vol. 11, No. 7, p. 34 [does not note the year].
[2] “The beta range is used for ground operations inclusive of slowing the aircraft after landing.” (SKYbrary, “Beta Range,” 10-5-2014, accessed 5-9-2016.)