Embraer EMB-120 Brasília crash, Jan 9, 1997 (29 killed)
Embraer EMB-120 Brasília accident on January 9, 1997 near Monroe, Michigan, United States with 29 fatalities. Cause: Loss of control after ice...
- Date: January 9, 1997
- Aircraft: Embraer EMB-120 Brasília
- Location: Monroe, Michigan, United States
- Fatalities: 29
- Phase of flight: Approach and landing
- Cause: Loss of control after ice accumulated on the wings while the crew operated near the bottom of the airspeed envelope with flaps retracted. Inadequate FAA icing certification standards and Comair's failure to set and communicate minimum airspeeds for flap configurations and icing were cited as factors.
Comair Flight 3272, an Embraer EMB-120 operating as Delta Connection on a Cincinnati to Detroit scheduled flight, was vectored for an approach to Detroit in icing conditions. It descended and struck a field near the airport in a steep nose-down attitude; the aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire and all 29 people aboard were killed. The NTSB found that ice on the lifting surfaces, low airspeed and flaps retracted led to a loss of control after the autopilot disconnected.