De Havilland DHC-8-102 N852MA
22 January 1997 · Charleston, West Virginia, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 22 January 1997 at about 14:10 local time, a De Havilland DHC-8-102 registered N852MA, operated by Mesaba Aviation, was involved in an incident near Charleston, West Virginia, United States. 11 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 14:10
- Classification
- Incident
- Location
- Charleston, West Virginia, United States
- Nearest airport
- Yeager (CRW)
- Coordinates
- 38.3493, -81.6307
- Aircraft
- De Havilland DHC-8-102
- Registration
- N852MA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Mesaba Aviation
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Roanoke
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI97IA075
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Probable cause
a fractured fusion weld in the piston of the roll spoiler servoactuator, which allowed the plug at the base of the piston to separate and jam the piston. A factor relating to the incident was: the inadequate design of the airplane's roll spoiler servoactuator piston.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The captain said that during takeoff rotation, the airplane rolled left. He noted no warning lights or horns before or during the event. He applied right control wheel and right rudder to stop the left roll. After the captain had the airplane's roll stabilized, he 'made a wide left pattern and returned to the departure airport.' The airplane was landed without further incident. A postincident inspection of the airplane revealed that the left inboard roll spoiler was 'jammed and partially deployed.' An examination and disassembly of the roll spoiler servoactuator revealed that a plug (PN A50993-1), which had been fusion-welded into the base of the piston (PN A50992-1), had separated and lodged between the base of the piston and the shims, restricting the piston's movement. Dowty Aerospace (the manufacturer) had recorded six previous failures of fusion welds in pistons on DHC-8 roll spoiler servoactuators before this incident.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other De Havilland DHC-8 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 1997 | De Havilland DHC-8-102 | Romulus, Michigan, United States | Mesaba Airlines | No injuries | - |
| 24 Feb 1997 | De Havilland DHC-8-311 | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States | Mesa Airlines | No injuries | - |
| 26 Mar 1997 | De Havilland DHC-8 | Wenatchee, Washington, United States | Horizon Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 16 Dec 1996 | De Havilland DHC-8 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | Aloha Islandair Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 3 Apr 1995 | De Havilland DHC-8-102 | Moline, Illinois, United States | Mesaba Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 1 Aug 1994 | De Havilland DHC-8-311 | Washington, District of Columbia, United States | Atlantic Coast Airlines | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 1997 | Taylorcraft DCO-65 | Charleston, West Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 Aug 1997 | Cessna 172M | Milton, West Virginia, United States | Wade Hester | No injuries | - |
| 10 May 1997 | American AA-1 | Lewisburg, West Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Oct 1997 | Cessna 182P | Morgantown, West Virginia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 6 Sep 1997 | Reynolds MARSKE-MONARCH 1997 | Sutton, West Virginia, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 Oct 1997 | Cessna 120 | Mineral Wells, West Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |