# Accident 20001108038739A: Saab 340B, Aberdeen, SD, November 8, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 8, 2000, 18:00 local time
- Place: Aberdeen, SD
- Airport: Aberdeen Regional Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: MALA
- Location: 45.4601° N, 98.4799° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.4601&lon=-98.4799&mi=10
- Aircraft: N402XJ (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: SAAB 340B
- Reported engine: GE CT79B
- People aboard: 33
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 5,616 total, 1,814 in this make and model, 132 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI01LA033](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA033) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001108038739A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-19) ON NOVEMBER 8, 2000, AT 1800 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A SAAB-340-B, N402XJ, OPERATED BY MESABA AVIATION, INC., WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A FLOCK OF GEESE DURING AN APPROACH FOR LANDING. THE WINDSHIELD WIPER WAS TORN FROM THE AIRPLANE.  THE LEFT COMPOSITE PROPELLER EXHIBITED IMPACT MARKS AND CHORDWISE SCRATCHING ON THE FACE OF A PROPELLER BLADE.  METAL FRAGMENTS PUNCTURED THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE AND ONE OF THE FRAGMENTS HIT A PASSENGER IN THE LEG.  THE AIRPLANE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT.  THE PASSENGER WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR MINOR INJURIES. THE PILOT, COPILOT, FLIGHT ATTENDANT, AND THE REMAINING 21 PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED.  THE 14 CFR PART 121 MESABA FLIGHT 2831 HAD DEPARTED MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MSP), MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, AND LANDED AT THE ABERDEEN REGIONAL AIRPORT (ABR), ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.                                                             (-23) ON NOVEMBER 8, 2000, AT APPROXIMATELY 6:00 PM CT, A SAAB M/N 340B, N420XJ, WAS ON APPROACH TO LAND ON RUNWAY 31 AT THE ABERDEEN, SD AIRPORT (ABR ), WHEN AT ABOUT 600 FEET AGL THE AIRCRAFT HIT A MASSIVE FLOCK OF GEESE AND RECEIVED 10-12 BIRD STRIKES. THE AIRCRAFT FLIGHT #MES2831, OPERATED BY MESABA AIRLINES (MALA), WAS ON A COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS, MN (MSP) EN ROUTE TO ABERDEEN, SD (ABR), UNDER CFR PART 121 WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. ONE PASSENGER RECEIVED A SERIOUS INJURY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI01LA033](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA033), Nov 9, 2000: Saab 340-B (N402XJ), Aberdeen, SD, substantial damage. Probable cause: the impact with the flock of snow geese.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.