- ACCIDENT DETAILS
Date: January 09, 1997
Time: 1554
Location: Near Monroe, Michigan
Operator: Comair
Flight #: 3272
Route: Cincinnati - Detroit
AC Type: Embraer 120RT Brasilia
Registration: N265CA
cn / ln: 120257
Aboard: 29   (passengers:26  crew:3)
Fatalities: 29   (passengers:26  crew:3)
Ground: 0
Summary: While on approach and attempting to land on runway 3R at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, in a snowstorm, the aircraft went into a steep dive and crashed into a field. The accident was caused by the FAA's failure to establish adequate aircraft certification standards for flight in icing conditions. Contributing to the accident were the flightcrew's decision to operate in icing conditions near the lower margin of the operating airspeed envelope (with flaps retracted), and Comair's failure to establish and adequately disseminate unambiguous minimum airspeed values for flap configurations and for flight in icing conditions. In addition, Embraer's manual for the aircraft specified correctly that the deicing boots should be activated as soon as icing occured. But the pilots were trained by Comair's manual, which specified waiting until ice was about 1/2 inch thick.
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