Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340B N329AE
11 December 1997 · Ventura, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 11 December 1997 at about 13:35 local time, a Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340B registered N329AE, operated by Wings West, was involved in an accident near Ventura, California, United States. 17 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 13:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Ventura, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 34.1893, -119.1709
- Aircraft
- Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340B
- Registration
- N329AE
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Wings West
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Santa Barbara → Los Angeles
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- LAX98LA057
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
Probable cause
Seat belt not used. A related factor was the unforecasted severe air turbulence.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The captain reported that 20 minutes into a smooth flight, and 10 minutes before landing, he felt some light chop so he turned on the seat belt sign. Shortly thereafter, they experienced sudden and violent severe turbulence, seriously injuring the flight attendant. At that time, the flight attendant had completed her service and was about to acknowledge the seat belt sign over the public-address system prior to her being seated for landing. According to the crew, no valid SIGMET was issued and no AIRMET or PIREPS were available.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 1997 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340B | Lafayette, Louisiana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 May 1997 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340B | San Luis Obispo, California, United States | Wings West Airlines, Inc | No injuries | - |
| 11 Nov 1998 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340 | Melbourne, Australia | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Jul 1996 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340A | Providence, Rhode Island, United States | Business Express Airlines | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 Nov 1998 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340A | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | Express Airlines One, Inc. | Fatal | - |
| 18 Mar 1998 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340 | Taipai, Taiwan | Formosa Airlines | Fatal | 13 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 1997 | Airbus A300 B4-203 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Pan American World Airways, In | No injuries | - |
| 15 Aug 1997 | Bell UH-1H | Tahoe City, California, United States | Usda / Forest Service | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Cessna 152 | Julian, California, United States | Plus One Flyers, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Schweizer 2-32 | Warner Springs, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Oct 1997 | Bellanca 7ECA | Tracy, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 26 Oct 1997 | Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300 | Castaic, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |