USAir Flight 405

USAir Flight 405 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. On March 22, 1992, the Fokker F28 Fellowship operating the route crashed during takeoff in Flushing Bay, resulting in 27 fatalities. The accident was a pivotal event in aviation safety, highlighting the dangers of aircraft icing and leading to significant changes in deicing procedures and crew resource management training.

Accident

The aircraft, operating as USAir Flight 405, was scheduled for a late evening departure from LaGuardia Airport's Runway 13. A winter storm had moved through the New York metropolitan area, bringing snow and freezing precipitation. The crew requested and received deicing fluid treatment from American Airlines ground personnel, but a lengthy delay ensued before air traffic control cleared the flight for takeoff. During this hold, the aircraft accumulated significant clear ice on its wings, which was not visually apparent to the crew. Upon initiating the takeoff roll, the aircraft failed to achieve adequate lift, overran the runway, struck a Localizer antenna, and plunged into the icy waters of Flushing Bay.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Fokker F28 Fellowship, registration N485US, a twin-engine jet aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines. At the time of the accident, the Fokker F28 was a common workhorse in USAir's fleet for short-haul routes in the Northeastern United States. The design was known for its robust performance, but like all aircraft, it was highly susceptible to performance degradation from even small amounts of wing contamination due to ice.

Crew and passengers

The flight was commanded by an experienced captain, with a first officer also on the flight deck. The cabin was staffed by two flight attendants. Among the 47 passengers were business travelers and families. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report would later note that the crew held all necessary Federal Aviation Administration certifications. The response to the crash involved multiple agencies, including the New York City Police Department, the Fire Department of New York, and the United States Coast Guard, which conducted rescue operations in the frigid bay.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) led a comprehensive investigation. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered and analyzed. The investigation concluded that the probable cause was the failure of the airline's ground crew and the flight crew to ensure the wings were free of ice before takeoff. Contributing factors included inadequate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations for holdover time, poor communication between the flight crew and deicing personnel, and the crew's decision to take off without conducting a tactile inspection of the wings. The findings sharply criticized the existing deicing protocols at many airports, including LaGuardia Airport.

Aftermath

The crash of USAir Flight 405 had a profound impact on aviation safety regulations and procedures. The National Transportation Safety Board issued numerous safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration. This led to the mandatory implementation of revised, more conservative holdover time guidelines for deicing fluids, improved training for flight crews on aircraft icing detection, and enhanced crew resource management programs. The accident also accelerated the development and adoption of more effective anti-icing fluids, such as Type IV fluid. These changes were incorporated into the operations of major carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, and became standard at airports worldwide.

Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1992 Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Fokker F28 Category:USAir accidents and incidents Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in New York City Category:March 1992 events in the United States