Bombardier DHC-8-202 N367PH

Summary

On 29 August 2009, a Bombardier DHC-8-202 registered N367PH, operated by Champlain Enterprises Inc, was involved in an accident near Sterling, Virginia, United States. The number of people on board was not recorded. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

29 August 2009

Classification

Accident

Location

Sterling, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Unknown

Coordinates

38.9543, -77.4520

Aircraft

Bombardier DHC-8-202

Registration

N367PH

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Champlain Enterprises Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

NTSB number

ERA09LA529

Injuries not recorded.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On an unknown date and at an unknown time, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom of the fuselage tail section. The damage was found during a maintenance C-check inspection on August 29, 2009. The damage was found when maintenance personnel were inspecting the inside of the tail section and noticed bowing and bending in the support structure and damage to nearby rivets. The damage was consistent with tail strike damage and had resulted in a puncture of the pressure vessel of the airplane. According to the maintenance task cards for different inspections of the airplane, an exterior inspection was to be completed prior to any other work. At least three exterior inspections were completed within the weeks preceding the discovery of the damage, including the inspection in which the damage was discovered. Each inspection required examination of the damaged area. Because maintenance personnel likely missed the damage during these inspections, pilots performing preflight checks of the airplane would be just as likely to miss the damage. Due to the height of the damage personnel would likely need to bend down in order to see it.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.