CommutAir Flight 4821
{{short description|1992 aviation accident}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}{{Use American English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name = CommutAir Flight 4821
| image = Beech 1900C-1, USAir Express (Stateswest Airlines) AN0205213.jpg
| alt =
| caption = A Beechcraft 1900C similar to the accident aircraft
| image_upright = 1.15
| occurrence_type = Accident
| date = {{start date|1992|01|03}}
| summary = Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
| site = Gabriels, near Adirondack Regional Airport, Saranac Lake, New York, United States
| coordinates = {{coord|44.421|-74.191|type:event_globe:earth_region:US-NY|display=title}}
| occupants = 4
| passengers = 2
| crew = 2
| injuries = 2
| fatalities = 2
| missing =
| survivors = 2
| aircraft_type = Beechcraft 1900C
| aircraft_name =
| operator = CommutAir doing business as USAir Express
| tail_number = N55000
| origin = Plattsburgh International Airport, Plattsburgh, New York
| stopover =
| stopover0 = Adirondack Regional Airport, Saranac Lake, New York
| stopover1 =
| stopover2 =
| stopover3 =
| stopover4 =
| stopover5 =
| last_stopover = Albany International Airport, Albany, New York
| destination = Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey
}}
On Friday, January 3, 1992, a Beechcraft 1900C operating CommutAir Flight 4821 crashed into a wooded hillside near Gabriels, New York while conducting an ILS approach to Runway 23 at the Adirondack Regional Airport. The cause of the accident was determined to be pilot error. There were two people killed in the crash, and two survivors.{{cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900C-1 N55000 Saranac Lake-Adirondack Airport, NY (SLK) |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19920103-0 |access-date=July 5, 2009 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}
Accident
Flight 4821 was a regularly scheduled early morning USAir Express flight from Plattsburgh, New York, to Newark, New Jersey, with intermediate stops in Saranac Lake and Albany, New York. The crew for Flight 4821 were Captain Kevin St. Germain, 30, and First Officer Dean Montana, 23. There were two passengers on board, one of which was an off-duty CommutAir employee.{{cite news|date=January 4, 1992|title=2 KILLED IN PLANE CRASH|work=The Palm Beach Post|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PBPB&p_theme=pbpb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF85138BE86550&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/128864373/ Clipping at] Newspapers.com.
Shortly before the crash occurred, the aircraft had contacted CommutAir officials on the ground at the airport. During the descent into Saranac Lake, the crew descended below the glide slope and crashed into a hill at 5:45am.{{cite news|date=January 4, 1992|title=2 die, 2 hurt in commuter plane crash|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24393516.html?dids=24393516:24393516&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Jan+04%2C+1992&author=Chicago+Tribune+wires.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=2+die%2C+2+hurt+in+commuter+plane+crash&pqatl=google|access-date=April 23, 2010|archive-date=October 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026120553/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24393516.html?dids=24393516:24393516&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Jan+04,+1992&author=Chicago+Tribune+wires.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=2+die,+2+hurt+in+commuter+plane+crash&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}} First Officer Montana and the company employee passenger were killed. Captain St. Germain and the other passenger survived the crash with injuries.{{cite web|date=March 28, 1994|title=In reply refer to: A-94-74 through -76|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A94_74_76.pdf|access-date=April 23, 2010|publisher=National Transportation Safety Board}}
Investigation
The aircraft was new and the crew was experienced. Immediately following the accident, there was no clear cause.{{cite news|date=January 5, 1992|title=2 DIE IN BAFFLING CRASH OF NEW PLANE|work=The Buffalo News|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4C660DCE55E92&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|access-date=April 23, 2010}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123262488/ Clipping at] Newspapers.com.
The aircraft was not required to be equipped with a flight data recorder (FDR), therefore, a flight data recorder was not present. The aircraft was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) but it was burned to the point that the data inside were not usable. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) used aircraft position data from air traffic control, the aircraft wreckage, survivor interviews, and weather information to find its probable cause.
The NTSB blamed the pilots for the crash. Captain St. Germain failed to stabilize the approach, cross check the instruments, and descended below the minimum altitude, while First Officer Montana failed to monitor the approach. The contributing factors to the crash were weather and possible precipitation static interference, which could have caused unreliable glide slope indications.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1992}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1990s}}
Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Beechcraft 1900
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1992
Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in New York (state)
Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Category:1992 in New York (state)
Category:January 1992 in the United States
Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain