- Date
- July 21, 2002, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Charleston, WV
- Injuries
- 35 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N110XJSaab-Scania 340A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 17, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-09
- FAA report
- 20020721016169A
- Case key
- 55278
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
The vehicle driver's failure to maintain clearance of the airplane.
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
While the airplane was standing at the gate, with the engines not operating, the flightcrew requested that a ground power unit (GPU) be reconnected to the airplane. An employee on the ground drove a ground service vehicle, with a GPU attached, toward the airplane. As the ground service vehicle approached the airplane, it struck an aft section of fuselage.
Factual narrative
On July 21, 2002, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a Saab 340A, N110XJ, operated by Mesaba Aviation Inc. as Northwest Airlink flight 2742, was substantially damaged while standing at Yeager Airport (CRW), Charleston, West Virginia. The certificated airline transport pilot, certificated commercial pilot, flight attendant, and 32 passengers were not injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight destined to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Detroit, Michigan. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the air carrier flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 121.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane was standing at the gate, and the passengers had already boarded. The engines were not operating, and the flightcrew requested that a ground power unit (GPU) be reconnected to the airplane. To facilitate their request, an employee on the ground drove a ground service vehicle, with a GPU attached, toward the airplane. As the ground service vehicle approached the airplane, it struck a section of fuselage, located aft of the airplane cargo compartment door.
The impact resulted in an approximate 2-foot long, 7-inch wide tear in the skin of the fuselage, and damaged two frames of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N110XJ
- Reported as
- Saab-Scania 340A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 110
- Airframe hours
- 31,299
- Engines
- General Electric CT7-5A2, 1,600 horsepower, turbo propGeneral Electric CT7-5A2, 1,600 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Mesaba Aviation Inc., doing business as Northwest Airlink
- Registered owner
- First Union Bank of NC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · June 10, 2002 · 193 hours before
- Departed
- CRW · Charleston, WV
- Destination
- DTW · Detroit, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CRW · Yeager Airport
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- February 6, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 2,400 in this make and model · 1,600 as pilot in command · 135 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 17, 2001
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,800 total · 1,400 in this make and model · 1,300 as pilot in command · 240 in the last 90 days · 75 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- CRW
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 27, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 446 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N110XJ · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.