The Safety Board’s full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-11/02. On January 27, 2009, about 0437 central standard time, an Avions de Transport Régional Aerospatiale Alenia ATR 42 320, N902FX, operating as Empire Airlines flight 8284, was on an instrument approach when it crashed short of the runway at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, Lubbock, Texas. The captain sustained serious injuries, and the first officer sustained minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to Federal Express Corporation and operated by Empire Airlines, Inc., as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 supplemental cargo flight. The flight departed from Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Fort Worth, Texas, about 0313. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed.
The flight crew's failure to monitor and maintain a minimum safe airspeed while executing an instrument approach in icing conditions, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. Contributing to the accident were 1) the flight crew's failure to follow published standard operating procedures in response to a flap anomaly, 2) the captain's decision to continue with the unstabilized approach, 3) the flight crew's poor crew resource management, and 4) fatigue due to the time of day in which the accident occurred and a cumulative sleep debt, which likely impaired the captain's performance.
— 214,200 samples, 35 parameters, 03:11:50.7 to 04:36:50.7.
| Parameter | Max | at | Min | at | Final | at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure altitude ft | 17,988.0 | 03:45:45.8 | -3,589.0 | 04:36:33.8 | -3,497.0 | 04:36:49.8 |
| Pitch attitude deg | 268.6 | 04:36:50.2 | -90.0 | 04:36:27.5 | 265.8 | 04:36:50.5 |
| Roll attitude deg | 161.4 | 04:36:36.5 | -175.4 | 04:36:27.5 | 146.6 | 04:36:50.5 |
| Vertical acceleration g | 5.9 | 04:36:27.1 | 0.4 | 04:36:25.5 | 1.0 | 04:36:50.6 |
| Time | Event | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 03:19 CST | Departed Fort Worth Alliance, climbing to 18,000 ft; autopilot engaged at 03:23 through 4,700 ft; airframe de-ice on at 03:31 through 16,300 ft; level at 18,000 ft at 03:36 | 7 |
| 04:02-04:31 CST | Descent begun 04:02, level 13,900 ft at 04:08; descent 04:18, de-ice off through 10,000 ft at 04:22; level 5,800 ft at 04:27; descent 04:30 with de-ice selected on; level 4,800 ft at 04:31 | 7 |
| 04:33-04:34:20 CST | Left turn onto the approach; localizer 0.0-0.5 dots, glideslope about -1.0 dot | 7 |
| 04:34:25-04:34:26 CST | Flap position began increasing from 0 deg; at about 4 deg a flap asymmetry was recorded and a left roll | 7 |
| 04:34:50-04:34:54 CST | Descent on the glideslope began (localizer 0.0, glideslope 1.0 dot); engine power reduced on both engines | 7 |
| 04:35:29-04:35:30 CST | Autopilot disengaged and power increased on both engines at 3,990 ft pressure altitude, 125 kts, AOA 11.3 deg; aircraft rolled to about 12 deg right then about 10 deg left | 7 |
| 04:35:50-04:35:58 CST | Localizer -1.5 dots, glideslope 2.0 dots (above), radio altitude about 700 ft; momentary autopilot engage selections at 04:35:54 and 04:35:58; power reduced on both engines | 8 |
| 04:36:00-04:36:18 CST | Glideslope deviation approached 0.0 dots then increased; power increased on both engines at 04:36:18 at about 200 ft radio altitude | 8 |
| 04:36:20-04:36:27 CST | Loss of control: roll from 6 deg right varying between 35 deg right and 50 deg left; AOA from 13.6 deg varying -0.2 to 29.3 deg; pitch from 2 deg nose up varying between 11 deg nose up and 6 deg nose down (stall) | 8 |
| 04:36:27 CST | Approximate time of ground impact; airspeed, pressure altitude, pitch, roll and TAT/SAT unreliable thereafter | 8 |
257 transcribed utterances from 04:10:52 to 04:37:27, 15 sources. Final entries:
| 04:37:16 | CAM-1 | no you know what—. |
| 04:37:17 | CAM-2 | what. |
| 04:37:17 | CAM-1 | when you get out can you get out—. |
| 04:37:25 | CAM | [sound similar to door opening] |
| 04:37:27 | CAM-1 | *. |
Docket: data.ntsb.gov/Docket/?NTSBNumber=CEN09MA142. This brief is an analytical aid assembled from public records; it is not an investigative finding.