Accident Crash Investigation

Accident Crash Investigation

Group 1

Instructor: Campbell, Kathleen

Meteorology WEAX 201

Abstract

There was an uncontrolled flight into terrain. The aircraft was an Embraer 120 Brasilia, Comair Flight 3272 from Detroit, Michigan flying at approx. 45 NM southwest of Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Detroit Michigan. The following report pertains to flight 3272 and the accident that occurred on 9 January 1997. The aircraft was owned by COMAIR and resulted in an uncontrolled descent and crashed approximately 20 miles from the aircrafts destination. Due to the incident there were all 26 passengers and 3 crew members were killed. There were now ground casualties.

Accident investigation report

Comair flight 3272

Description of the crash event- Flight 3272 was on approach for landing when it crashed 2 miles outside of Detroit Metro Airport. Multiple witnesses on the ground in the area of the flight plan stated that the aircraft did what was described as a barrel roll and then went straight down to the ground. Witnesses that were interviewed stated that the aircraft immediately exploded and was on fire. The fuselage of the aircraft was compromised and there were passengers and luggage scattered all around the crash site.

Pilots operating Comair flight 3272- After investigating the records of the Captain Dann Carleen who had been with the airline since 1990 and the First Officer Kenneth Reese who had been with the airline since 1994, there was nothing to indicate a history of complacency.

Weather conditions-Weather conditions at the time of the event included fog and light snow restricting visibility to less than three quarters of a mile, a surface temperature of 28 degrees Fahrenheit, light turbulence, and a wind speed of 6 miles per hour. All factors contributed to the buildup of a thin layer of ice on the wings during the decent from 7,000ft to 4,000ft as pilots prepared for the final approach.

Safety issues involved with crash-

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