Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Friday, January 27, 1995 17:23 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While in cruise flight at 12,000 feet mean sea level, the no. 2 engine had a fire indication. The crew shut the engine down in flight and landed uneventfully. Investigation found a cracked left fuel manifold segment in the no. 2 engine. Metallurgical analysis established that the crack was characterized by fatigue striations, and that the crack occurred in a position on the manifold where there was an abrupt change in material thickness. There had been two previous occurrences of cracked manifolds reported by the operator and investigated by the NTSB. Prior to this incident, the manufacturer had taken three actions to resolve fuel manifold cracking; they were: 1.) introduce a redesign of manifold segments, 2.) agree to replace all operator manifold assemblies with the improved design, and 3.) introduce an eddy current inspection procedure for detecting manifold cracks. Following this incident, the FAA mandated more frequent inspection intervals and adoption of the new eddy-current inspection process for the unimproved manifolds.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A fuel leak in the no. 2 engine left fuel manifold segment due to a design defect which led to a fatigue crack.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 1/27/1995
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1723
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City MADISON
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53704
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 89
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 5059
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time 0
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 3:59PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N611AW
NTSB Number CHI95IA079
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage None
Aircraft Fire In-flight
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name British Aerospace
Aircraft Model BAE-146-300
Aircraft Series Identifier BAE-146-30
Aircraft Serial Number E3120
Certified Max Gross Weight 93000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 102
Number of Engines 4
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AIR WISCONSIN, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 203 CHALLENGER DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City APPLETON
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 54915
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code AWAA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ORD
Departure City CHICAGO
Departure State IL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1713
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code MSN
Destination City
Destination State WI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --