- Date
- October 12, 1988, 14:35 local (18:35 UTC)
- Place
- Yardley, PA
- Injuries
- 39 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N17810Aerospatiale ATR-42-300AF 1Boeing 707-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 8072
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Bfr tkof, corrected flt plan was put in ATC computer for airforce 1 (AF1) to take nonstandard rte to newark. After tkof,AF1 was vctrd nw with handoff to NY ARTCC (zny), then east via Yardley (ard) to newark; 15 mi west of ard, zny initiatedhandoff to NY TRACON (N90). TRACON supvr adzd zny that AF1 shld be dscndg to 9000' drg handoff, then N90 ctlr tld wash ARTCC (zdc) ctlr in adj sector to 'stop the newark arrivals only.' Zny ctlr clrd AF1 to dscnd & chg to N90 freq, but w/ogiving zdc mandatory pointout of AF1. Meanwhile, bar harbor flt 494 was being ctld by zdc & was inbnd to ard on a NE hdgat 11,000'. Noting an automated handoff was accepted by N90, zdc ctlr clrd flt 494 to dscnd to 7000' & chg to N90 freq.N90 ctlr noted dvlpg situation, but thought all flts fm zdc sector wld be held in zdc airspace. Subsequently, he took corrective actn, but standard sepn btn acft was lost nr base of 10,000' cld layer. Inv revealed inadequate monitoring & coordination btn ATC facilities; svrl controllers & supvrs lacked trng or awareness of their responsibilities.
Bfr tkof, corrected flt pln was put in ATC computer for air force 1 (AF1) to take nonstandard rte to newark. After tkof,AF1 was vctrd nw with handoff to NY ARTCC (zny), then east via Yardley (ard) to newark; 15 mi west of ard, zny initiatedhandoff to NY TRACON (N90). TRACON supvr adzd zny that AF1 shld be dsndg to 9000' drg handoff, then N90 ctlr tld wash ARTCC (zdc) ctlr in adj sector to 'stop the newark arrivals only.' Zny ctlr clrd AF1 to dscnd & chg to N90 freq, but w/ogiving zdc mandatory pointout of AF1. Meanwhile, bar harbor flt 494 was being ctld by zdc & was inbnd to ard on a NE hdgat 11,000'. Noting an automated handoff was accepted by N90, zdc ctlr clrd flt 494 to dscnd to 7000' & chg to N90 freq.N90 ctlr noted dvlpg situation, but thought all flts fm zdc sector wld be held in zdc airspace. Subsequently, he took corrective actn, but standard sepn btn acft was lost nr base of 10,000' cld layer. Inv revealed inadequate monitoring & coordination btn ATC facilities; svrl controllers & supvrs lacked trng or awareness of their responsibilities.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N17810
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 (ATR 42-300)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 093
- Airframe hours
- 898
- Engine
- P&W PW120, 2,000 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Bar Harbor Airways, doing business as Bar Harbor A/L,Ea X, Cont'L X
- Registered owner
- Continental Airlines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · September 24, 1988 · 137 hours before
- Departed
- BWI · Baltimore, MD
- Destination
- EWR · Newark, NJ
- Flight plan
- IFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
- Registration
- AF 1
- Reported as
- Boeing 707-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27000
- Engine
- P&W JT3D, 12,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Armed forces
- Operator
- 89th Military Airlift Wing
- Registered owner
- 89th Military Airlift Wing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- PHL · Philadelphia, PA
- Destination
- EWR · Newark, NJ
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N17810
- Age
- 40
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,260 total
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft 2
- Certificate
- Military
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg