An American Eagle flight from Indianapolis to Chicago carrying 64 passengers and 4 crew members crashed after encountering icing conditions. The twin-engine turboprop plane entered rain and clouds, accumulating ice while in a holding pattern between 10,000 and 8,000 feet for 20 minutes. The ice was able to accumulate on a part of the wing that controls the ailerons, causing the aircraft to unexpectedly roll and crash into a field at 695 km/h, killing everyone on board. This accident prompted safety recommendations to prohibit operating these aircraft types in known icing conditions until their susceptibility to icing was further examined.
2. •The American Eagle 4184 leaving Indianapolis
for Chicago O’Hare was an ATR72 type
aircraft.
•This type of plane is a twin-engine turboprop.
3. • The plane was carrying 64 passengers and 4 crew members.
• The flight lasted only about 30 minutes
• As the aircraft flew towards Chicago, it entered some cloudy and
rainy weather
• Captain Orlando Aguiar had volunteered to fly this flight on his
day off to make extra money, because his wife was expecting their
second child
• First Officer Jeff Galgiano was handling the flying duties on this leg
of the flight
4. • Due to traffic congestion, the flight was put on a holding pattern over
Roselawn, Indiana
• At this point everything is normal, but the plane was going too fast to fly with
its flaps extended and Gagliano retracted the flaps
• However, ice buildup on the wings was interfering with the airflow and in a
few seconds there was a strange sound coming from the fuselage
5. •The plane was deiced before takeoff, but because of the
way the plane was built, the deicing did not reach the part
of the wing that control the ailerons.
•The plane was in a holding pattern at 10,000 feet for about
20 minutes and was instructed to descend to 8000 feet for
another hold.
•During this holding pattern,
ice was able to accumulate,
and caused the aircraft to roll
6. •Suddenly the control column snaps to the right
causing the plane to roll, but the pilots are able to
recover.
• But then it happens again, and
the controls won’t budge
causing the aircraft to crash into
a field at 695 kilometers per
hour near Roselawn, Indiana.
• Due to this extreme velocity,
the plane was completely
disintegrated.
8. American Eagle flight 4184 was the first loss of an ATR72 and
is currently the worst loss of an ATR72.
9. Safety Recommendations
• This accident caused the NTSB to recommend that the FAA prohibit
the intentional operation of ATR-42 and ATR-72 aircrafts in known or
reported icing conditions until the effect of upper wing surface ice on
the flying qualities and aileron hinge movement characteristics are
examined further.
