Bradley International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Jefferson, New York 12093
Tuesady, March 26, 2002 22:10 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight was on approach to the airport, flying through rain and snow, and descending through 13,000 feet. No thunderstorm cells were depicted on the weather radar, but the airplane was noticeable struck by lightning. The strike severed two of the four elevator cables, however, the flight landed uneventfully.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An in-flight encounter with lightning, which severed two of the four elevator cables.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 3/26/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 2210
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Jefferson
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12093
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 422840N
Event Location Longitude 0744008W
Event Location Airport Bradley International Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BDL
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 100
Degrees magnetic from airport 310
Airport Elevation 173
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2231 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID ALB
Elevation of weather observation facility 278
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
Lowest Ceiling Height 300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 2
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Moderate
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 17
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12622
NTSB Notification Source BDL FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Mar 27 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 16 2003 4:27PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Windsor Locks, CT

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N290SK
NTSB Number NYC02IA076
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Embraer
Aircraft Model EMB-145LR
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 145474
Certified Max Gross Weight 42328
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 55
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Mar 9 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 146
Airframe Hours 1644
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA Trustee
Aircraft Owner Street Address 79 South Main Street
Aircraft Owner City Salt Lake City
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84111
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Chautauqua Airlines Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2500 South High School Road, Suite 160
Operator City Indianapolis
Operator State IN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 46241
Operator Code CHQA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CMH
Departure City Columbus
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2100
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code BDL
Destination City Windsor Locks
Destination State CT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 18 2002 10:42AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 06
Runway Length 9510
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --