- Date
- December 1, 1998, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 51 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N414WFAerospatiale ATR-72-212
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 11, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 45401
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
an abrupt maneuver in response to a traffic avoidance system alert, resulting in a flight attendant falling and breaking a leg.
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
The flight was at 4,000 feet when Air Traffic Control gave the crew a traffic report. The crew could not locate the traffic, because at the time they were flying in instrument meteorological conditions. About 3 minutes later the crew received a TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) alert to climb. The flight climbed from 4,000 feet and leveled off at 5,300 feet. During the climb both flight attendants fell. One flight attendant broke her leg, the other was not injured. The flight attendants were standing completing their pre-landing duties when the event occurred. The pilot radioed ATC that he needed to have an ambulance meet the flight when it landed. The flight landed without further incident, and the flight attendant was taken to a local hospital.
Factual narrative
On December 1, 1998, about 1030 eastern standard time, an Aerospatiale ATR-72-212, N414WF, registered to AMR Leasing Corporation Inc., and operated by American Eagle Inc., had a flight attendant injured while maneuvering, about 30 miles southeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and an IFR flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 121 scheduled passenger flight. The airplane was not damaged. The flightcrew of 2, 1 flight attendant, and 48 passengers reported no injuries. One flight attendant was seriously injured. The flight had departed from Nassau, Bahamas, at 0945.
The flight was at 4,000 feet when Air Traffic Control gave the crew a traffic report. The crew could not locate the traffic, because at the time they were flying in instrument meteorological conditions. About 3 minutes later the crew received a TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) alert to climb. The flight climbed from 4,000 feet and leveled off at 5,300 feet. During the climb both flight attendants fell. One flight attendant broke her leg, the other was not injured. The flight attendants were standing completing their pre-landing duties when the event occurred. The pilot radioed ATC that he needed to have an ambulance meet the flight when it landed. The flight landed without further incident, and the flight attendant was taken to a local hospital.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N414WF
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale ATR-72-212
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 414
- Airframe hours
- 10,184
- Engine
- P&W PW 127, 1,850 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Amr Leasing Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- NAS · Nassua, OF
- Destination
- FLL
- 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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,000 total · 1,700 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 90 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FLL
Other investigations on N414WF · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.