Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311

Infobox Airliner accident
Crash

Image caption=
name = Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311
Date = April 5 1991
Type = Crash during final approach
Site = Brunswick, Georgia
Fatalities = 23
Injuries = 0
Aircraft Type= Embraer 120RT Brasilia
Operator = Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Tail Number = N270AS
Passengers = 20
Crew = 3
Survivors = 0

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 suffered an uncontrolled collision with terrain during a flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Brunswick, Georgia on April 5, 1991.

Flight Details

The flight took off from Atlanta at 1347, 23 minutes late due to an aircraft change as the originally scheduled aircraft had mechanical problems. The trip was otherwise uneventful until the aircraft arrived in the Brunswick area at 1444. Just after turning onto final approach, the aircraft suddenly rolled left until the wings were perpendicular to the ground and crashed in a nose down attitude 2 miles short of Runway 07 at Glynco Jetport.

Cause of the Accident

Malfunction of the left engine propeller control unit allowed the propeller blade angle to go below the flight idle position. Contributing to the accident was the deficient design of the propeller control unit by Hamilton Standard and the approval of the design by the Federal Aviation Administration.

While specifically excluded as a contributing factor in the accident, the NTSB raised concern with the common-place practice amongst regional air carriers of "reduced rest periods". The flight crew of ASA 2311 had a maximum of 8 hours and 15 minutes off duty between their two duty days. The NTSB estimated this resulted in the pilots only receiving 5 to 6 hours of sleep, less than intended per the FARs.

Notable Passengers

Texas senator John Tower, 65, his daughter Marianne, astronaut Manley "Sonny" Carter, and American College of Physicians president-elect Dr. Nicholas Davies were among those killed. [cite web|url=http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1991-4/1991-04-06-NBC-6.html|title=NBC Evening News|date= April 6, 1991|accessdate=2007-12-18 |publisher=NBC] [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DF163FF934A35757C0A967958260|title=Inquiry Begins Into Georgia Plane Crash|date= April 7, 1991|accessdate=2007-12-18 |publisher=New York Times]

External links

* [http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR92-03.pdf NTSB report on Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311]

ee also

*List of notable accidents and incidents on commercial airliners

Notes