Fairchild Dornier DO-328-300 N429FJ

Summary

On 2 May 2002 at about 12:30 local time, a Fairchild Dornier DO-328-300 registered N429FJ, operated by Atlantic Coast Airlines (Aca), was involved in an incident near Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. 36 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 May 2002 at 12:30

Classification

Incident

Location

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Atlantic City (ACY)

Coordinates

40.2979, -74.5212

Aircraft

Fairchild Dornier DO-328-300

Registration

N429FJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Atlantic Coast Airlines (Aca)

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greensboro → Laguardia

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD02IA046

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of flight display information for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight crew experienced a strong odor and smoke in the cockpit, followed by a loss of flight displays during flight in instrument meteorological conditions. The captain declared an emergency, and the first officer flew the airplane referencing the stand-by instruments. Shortly after declaring the emergency, the crew made a right 360 degree turn to avoid severe weather. However, near the completion of the turn, the crew entered VIP 4 and 5 intensity level weather, and reported moderate to severe turbulence. The airplane was then vectored to an airport east of the severe weather, executed an instrument approach and landed without incident. While on approach, the crew reported that all flight displays had returned back to normal. Twenty-seven days later, another crew, who were flying the same airplane, also experienced a loss of flight displays. Approximately 2 minutes after the failure, the displays returned to normal and the flight landed without incident at its intended destination. Examination of electrical components revealed no discrepancies. In addition, the manufacturer reviewed the design of the electrical system and could not identify a design failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.