L’Express Airlines Flight 508

Infobox Aircraft crash
name = L’Express Airlines Flight 508
date = July 10 1991
type = collision with obstacles and the terrain (Weather-induced)|
site = Birmingham, Alabama
origin = Mobile Regional Airport, Alabama
destination = Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama
injuries = 2
fatalities = 13
aircraft_type = Beech C99
operator = L'Express Airlines
tail_number = airreg|N|7217L|disaster
passengers = 13
crew = 2
survivors = 2

On July 10, 1991, a L'Express Airlines Beech C99 (Registration N7217L), flying as Flight 508 originating in New Orleans, and in transit from Mobile to Birmingham, crashed while attempting to make an ILS approach to Runway 5 (since renumbered to Runway 6) at Birmingham Municipal Airport (now Birmingham International Airport) in Birmingham, Alabama. The plane crashed in the Fairview area near Five Points West in the Ensley neighborhood and subsequently injured four persons on the ground, as well as destroying two homes. Of the 15 occupants onboard, there were 13 fatalities. The cause of the crash was attributed to severe thunderstorms. [http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR92-01.pdf NTSB/AAR-92/01 NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, L’Express Airlines, Inc. Flight 508] ] To date it is the worst commercial aviation accident in Alabama history. [ [http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp NTSB Accident Analysis & Synopses] ]

Flight

L’Express Flight 508 was operated with a Beech C99 twin-engine turboprop aircraft. Seating on the plane was five rows of two seats, one on each side of a central aisle. A single seat was located across from the left passenger loading door and a double seat at the rear of the aircraft. Passengers boarded through the rear passenger door. The flight left New Orleans, LA at 4:05 pm CDT, landing in Mobile, AL at 4:50 pm CDT. After changing crews, the flight departed for Birmingham Municipal Airport at 5:05 pm CDT. As the flight approached Birmingham, strong thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of the airport. Around the same time four other aircraft either diverted to other airports or delayed their approach and entered a holding pattern until the weather improved. The crew of Flight 508 was aware of the thunderstorm activity but elected to continue the approach. After entering a severe thunderstorm cell southwest of the airport, the crew lost directional control and was unable to recover the aircraft prior to impacting two houses in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham at 6:11:27 pm CDT.

Media coverage

The accident occurred during the 6:00 p.m. local evening news broadcasts. Local media reports began around 6:45 pm CDT with local ABC television affiliate WBRC broadcasting live by 6:45 pm CDT. Radio and television coverage continued through the night. Notably, WBRC was recording weather radar images around the time of the crash, these images would later be used in the official NTSB investigation and other crash-related litigation. [ [http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/post/wxtalk/5124/More-Thoughts-On-The-1991-LExpress-Crash ABC33/40 Weather Blog; More Thoughts On The 1991 L'Express Crash] ]

NTSB investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team to investigate the accident. Following a detailed investigation, the NTSB issued its final report on March 3, 1992; AAR-92/01. The formal probable cause of the accident was “the decision of the captain to initiate and continue an instrument approach into clearly identified thunderstorm activity, resulting in a loss of control of the airplane from which the flightcrew was unable to recover and subsequent collision with obstacles and the terrain.”

References