Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B N403XJ
16 July 2002 · Tupelo, Mississippi, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 16 July 2002 at about 14:30 local time, a Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B registered N403XJ, operated by Mesaba Airlines, was involved in an accident near Tupelo, Mississippi, United States. 3 people were on board. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 14:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Tupelo, Mississippi, United States
- Nearest airport
- Tupelo Regional (TUP)
- Coordinates
- 34.2681, -88.7700
- Aircraft
- Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B
- Registration
- N403XJ
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Mesaba Airlines
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Memphis → Tupelo
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- MIA02LA134
People
Injuries not recorded.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The failure of the ground agent to follow procedures and directives and to maintain a visual lookout due to a diversion of attention caused by paperwork being sucked toward the rotating propeller, resulting in collision between her hand and the propeller.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to numerous eyewitnesses, the airline ramp agent marshaled the arriving Saab-340B to its parking spot, chocked the nose wheel, and was in the process of delivering flight papers to the captain's access port when the papers blew out of her breast pocket. As she tried to retrieve the loose papers, her right hand contacted the winding down left propeller, and her thumb and two fingers were severed. Her manager characterized the cause as a case of impulse reactiveness on the part of the ramp agent in spite of having been trained on ground handling of the Saab 340 aircraft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Jan 2006 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B+ | Santa Maria, California, United States | American Eagle Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jul 1996 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B | Dfw Airport, Texas, United States | Wings West Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jan 2002 | Cessna 170B | Bellewood, Mississippi, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 14 Mar 2002 | Beechcraft C24R | Greenville, Mississippi, United States | Earnest Doyle Mosley | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 2002 | Beechcraft B-55 | Jackson, Mississippi, United States | West Properties | No injuries | - |
| 16 May 2002 | Taber LANCAIR SUPER ES | Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 27 Jun 2002 | Piper PA-28-140 | Picayune, Mississippi, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 May 2002 | Beechcraft 35 | Hernando, Mississippi, United States | John R Osborne | Minor injuries | - |