Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254

Coordinates: 33°58′37.57″N 86°5′41.55″W / 33.9771028°N 86.0948750°W / 33.9771028; -86.0948750

Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) Flight 2254
Accident
Date April 9, 1990
Summary Mid-air collision
Site Gadsden, Alabama, United States
Total fatalities 2
Total survivors 7
First aircraft

An ASA airlines Embraer 120RT Brasilia, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident.
Type Embraer 120RT Brasilia
Operator Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Registration N217AS
Flight origin Northwest Alabama Regional Airport; Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Stopover Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; Gadsden, Alabama
Destination Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; Atlanta, Georgia
Passengers 4
Crew 3
Survivors 7 (all)
Second aircraft

A CAP Cessna 172, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident.
Type Cessna 172
Operator Civil Air Patrol
Registration N99501
Flight origin Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; Gadsden, Alabama
Destination Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; Gadsden, Alabama
Passengers 1
Crew 1
Fatalities 2

On April 9, 1990, Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 2254 from Muscle Shoals, Alabama to Gadsden, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia was involved in a mid-air collision with a Cessna 172 over Gadsden resulting in the death of the pilot and passenger of the Cessna 172.

Accident

Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 2254,[1] operated under 14 CFR 135 with an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, registration N217AS,[2] from Muscle Shoals, Alabama[3] to Atlanta, Georgia with an intermediate stop at the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport in Gadsden, Alabama collided in mid-air with Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 registration N99501,[4] on April 9, 1990 over Gadsden. Following departure from Northeast Alabama Regional Airport Runway 24, the ASA flight turned left toward the east along its intended flight path to Atlanta at an assigned altitude of 5,000 feet. The Cessna 172 was west bound at the same altitude, facing the setting sun. During the head-on collision at 6:05 p.m. Central Daylight Time, the right horizontal stabilizer of the Embraer was torn from the aircraft. Though significantly damaged, the ASA flight managed to return to Northeast Alabama Regional Airport with no injuries to occupants, the Cessna 172 crashed into a field, resulting in fatal injuries to both occupants. An eyewitness to the event did not report any evasive maneuvers by either aircraft prior to the collision.[5][6][7]

Probable cause

The probable cause of the crash was attributed by the NTSB to be “inadequate visual lookout by the pilots of both aircraft which resulted in their failure to see-and-avoid oncoming traffic. A factor related to the accident was the sun’s glare, which restricted the vision of the Cessna 172 pilot.”[5]

See also

Similar accidents between a scheduled commercial flight and a private aircraft in the immediate airport environment include:

References

  1. ↑ Daily News; Kingsport, Tennessee; Commuter Aircraft Collides with Cessna Plane, Two Dead; April 11, 1990
  2. ↑ "FAA Registry (N217AS)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  3. ↑ Cronan, Carl, “Engine Fails on Shoals-bound ASA flight” Times Daily (Florence, AL); May 10, 1991
  4. ↑ "FAA Registry (N99501)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  5. 1 2 "Brief of Accident". NTSB. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  6. ↑ http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=ATL90FA095B&rpt=fa NTSB Brief of Accident; N99501; April 9, 1990; NTSB ID ATL90FA095B
  7. ↑ Commuter Plane, Cessna in Air Collision; Spokane Chronicle; April 10, 1990
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