1991 — Sep 11, Continental Express 2574 breakup and crash, near Eagle Lake, TX — 14
–14 B3A. “Crash of an Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia in Eagle Lake: 14 killed.” Geneva.[1]
–14 NTSB. AAR, Britt Airways, Inc., d/b/a Continental Express Flight 2574…” 7-21-1992, p. v.
Narrative Information
NTSB Executive Summary: “On September 11, 1991, about 1003 Central Daylight Time, Continental Express Flight 2574, an Embraer 120, operating under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 135, experienced a structural breakup in flight and crashed in a cornfield near Eagle Lake, Texas. The 2 flight crewmembers, 1 cabin crewmember and 11 passengers aboard the airplane were fatally injured.
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of Continental Express maintenance and inspection personnel to adhere to proper maintenance and quality assurance procedures for the airplane’s horizontal stabilizer deice boots [2]that led to the sudden in-flight loss of the partially secured left horizontal stabilizer leading edge and the immediate severe nose-down pitch-over and breakup of the airplane. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the failure of the Continental Express management to ensure compliance with the approved maintenance procedures, and the failure of FAA surveillance to detect and verify compliance with approved procedures.
“The issues in this investigation focused on:
- The responsibilities of the Federal Aviation Administration and aircraft manufacturers and operators to determine the critical items and inspection levels of aircraft systems.
- The procedures for relaying and standardizing maintenance shift turnover information.
“As a result of this investigation, the Safety Board issued safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration on the feasibility of developing a means to advise flightcrews of recent maintenance work on aircraft and the need for reviewing regulations, policies and practices for establishing required inspection items with a view toward developing more specific identification of such items. Also, as a result of this investigation, on February 28, 1992, the Safety Board issued safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration that would enhance both flight standards surveillance of Continental Express and flight standards Program Guidelines, including the National Aviation Safety Inspection Program….” (NTSB. AAR, Britt Airways, Inc., d/b/a Continental Express Flight 2574…” 7-21-1992, p. v.)
Sources
B3A Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of an Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia in Eagle Lake: 14 killed.” Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 4-16-2016 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/1991/archives/crash-of-an-embraer-emb-120-brasilia-in-eagle-lake-14-killed/
National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report, Britt Airways, Inc., d/b/a Continental Express Flight 2574 In-Flight Structural Breakup, EMB-120RT, N33701, Eagle Lake, Texas, September 11, 1991.” Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted 7-21-1992; notation 5612B. Accessed 4-16-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR9204.pdf
[1] Has crash location as Eagle Lake, California, not Texas.
[2] “A deicing boot is a type of ice protection system installed on aircraft surfaces to permit a mechanical deicing in flight. Such boots are generally installed on the leading edges of wings and control surfaces (e.g. horizontal and vertical stabilizer) as these areas are most likely to accumulate ice and any contamination could severely affect the aircraft’s performance.” (Wikipedia. “Deicing boot,” 3-18-2016 modification.)