On December 22, 2012, a Delta/Pinnacle Canadair CRJ 200 New York-Cleveland skidded off the runway on to soft ground. The flight had made a safe landing in Cleveland but skidded off the runway during taxi to the terminal.

No injuries were reported.

Passengers had to disembark on to the runway, and were provided transportation to the gate.

The post Cleveland Runway Overrun first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 en route from Boston to Kansas City
Where: JFK
When: Aug 13th 2012
Who: 73 passengers, 4 crew
Why: On takeoff, both right main landing gears blew. Pilots diverted to JFK and made an emergency landing.

After landing, the plane was stopped on the runway. A replacement jet was provided.

The post Flats Cause Diversion to JFK for Boston-Kansas Flight first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Delta Airlines/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-440 en route from New York JFK,NY to Lewisburg,WV
Where: New York
When: Jan 21st 2012, 3:00 pm
Who: 4 passengers and 3 crew
Why: On takeoff from JFK, the cockpit developed smoke.

Pilots put on their oxygen masks and reported smoke in the cockpit. ATC had to negotiate the flight’s return with other flights coming and going, but managed to get them back on the ground about twelve minutes after takeoff.

By the time maintenance examined the plane, smoke had dispersed. The smoke is being attributed to fluid burn-off.

Passengers were provided alternative transportation.

This week an article in Business Week discussed cost-cutting measures that might be taken by Pinnacle after a 12% decline following the 2009 Colgan Air crash and a $1.89 million fine from the FAA over unfinished flight attendant training.

The post Smoked Out Cockpit Claims Pinnacle Flight first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Delta Airlines/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Wilkes-Barre,PA to Detroit,MI
Where: Elmira
When: Jan 19th 2012
Who: 41 passengers and 3 crew
Why: After takeoff, the flight developed hydraulic issues.

Pilots diverted to Elmira. However, the hydraulic problem was exacerbated by a flaps problem, leading to an aborted landing and a fly by.

Pilots made a fast but safe landing.

A replacement jet was provided.

The post Hydraulic Failure, Emergency Landing in Elmira first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Delta/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Detroit to Portland
Where: Albany
When: Jan 18th 2012
Who: 51 passengers and 3 crew
Why: While en route, the plane developed problems with the fuel gauge.

Pilots diverted to Albany where they made a safe landing. The problem took two hours to repair, and the flight resumed.

The post Fuel gauge Issues Lead to Albany Emergency Diversion first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Delta/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Detroit,MI to Quebec
Where: Quebec
When: Dec 10th 2011
Who: 45 aboard
Why: On approach to Quebec, the pilots received a flaps fault.

The pilots aborted the approach. After declaring emergency, the pilots reset the flap system and made a second approach, landing safely.

The post Delta/Pinnacle Emergency Landing in Quebec first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Delta Airlines en route from Louisville,KY to Minneapolis,MN (USA)
Where: Minneapolis
When: Dec 8th 2011
Why: While on approach to Minneapolis, the CRJ-200 underwent a flaps failure.

The pilots made efforts to correct the problems and were unsuccessful in facilitating reparations. They made a fast landing without flaps, but the landing was otherwise without incident.

The post Pinnacle Fast and Flapless in Minneapolis first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s decision on the Colgan Air Flight 407 crash is that the pilot responded inappropriately to the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. The stick shaker only comes into play when the plane is already slow enough to stall. The plane fell 800 feet before crashing pointing northeast, away from the airport

The family of Ellyce Kausner has filed a lawsuit against Bombardier. Bombardier is the manufacturer of the plane involved in the crash. The suit charges that Bombardier was “negligent and careless” in the design of the plane by not providing more efficient internal mechanical warning systems.

Kausner was a 24 year old Jacksonville law student traveling to NY to visit family.

At least 19 other families have filed suits.

At the time of the crash, the automated “stick-pusher,” pushes the control column down in order to send the aircraft into a temporary dive so it can regain speed and recover from a stall but Capt. Renslow yanked back on the controls while adding thrust, manually overriding the stick-pusher.

Colgan Air, Clarence Center, NY, Accident Dockets

George’s Point of View

Time for Bombardier to step up to the plate. Although this has little to do with the pilot, who had flunked numerous flight tests during his career and was never adequately taught how to respond to the emergency that led to the airplane’s fatal descent. Maybe Ellyce would still be here if the warning systems on the Bombardier were simply better.

When the plane slowed down to a dangerous level, it set off the stall-prevention system, and the pilot performed the opposite of the proper procedure. So there were hiring and training issues involved too. And Captain Renslow had about 109 hours of experience, hardly enough to be pilot.

Even if procedures seem counter-intuitive, shouldn’t the pilot be aware of them?

Barring the inefficiency of an ill-prepared pilot, shouldn’t Bombardier have some kind of way to limit ineffective pilot responses?

When the hiring and training fails, and when the pilot fails, shouldn’t there be some kind of fail-safe within the plane? Even a copy of the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Not Crashing your Bombardier for pilots who flunked their last check write 16 months before and who apparently didn’t read the real manual?

The post Family Charges Bombardier with Negligence first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The single contract completes negotiations that were under way at Pinnacle and Colgan prior to Pinnacle’s acquisition of Mesaba on July 1, and provides a new contract for pilots at Mesaba that would supersede their present contract. Pinnacle has 1,305 pilots, Mesaba has 1,080 and Colgan has 541.

“I am extremely pleased that our pilots ratified the agreement with ALPA for a strong contract that brings together the pilots of Pinnacle, Mesaba and Colgan,” said Philip H. Trenary, President and CEO of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. “The new contract provides for competitive compensation for our pilots and will help ensure that we maintain our place as a leader within the regional industry.”

The five-year agreement provides improved salary and benefits, which will result in a substantial increase in compensation for the majority of the pilots. The majority of the new terms will go into effect March 1, 2011.

About Pinnacle Airlines Corp.

The post Pinnacle, Mesaba, Colgan Pilots Approve ALPA Contract first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Delta/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-440 en route from Columbia,MO to Memphis,TN
Where: Memphis
When: Jan 29th 201
Why: On approach to Memphis International Airport, the flight incurred a bird strike. The flight made a safe landing.

The post Pinnacle Bird Strike first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Passengers were taken by bus from Fargo to Grand Forks.

The post Fargo: Bomb Scare first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The post Pinnacle Strikes Game first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Delta/ Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Detroit to Rochester
Where: Rochester
When: Apr 27th 2010
Who: 15 passengers and 3 crew
Why: On approach to Rochester, the crew smelled smoke in the cockpit, and smoke was visibly detected. The flight made a safe landing, ostensibly planning to evacuate on the runway. However, after the safe landing, the plane taxied to the gate.

Maintenance confirmed that the smoke was caused by burning hydraulic fluid.

The post Rochester NY: Canadair Emergency Landing first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Certainly it is irrelevant that Pinnacle is out of Memphis, and Memphis has always been-from its very inception–a rowdy river-cowboy sort of town, with a wrestling “King” standing beside Elvis, and where wrestling (pronounced rasslin’) has cultural (or lack of cultural) roots. I’m sure ringside seats are not what these Delta-Pinnacle passengers had in mind when they got their tickets.

This incident makes one wonder yet again about Pinnacle flight crew hiring practices.

The flight attendants face an investigation and probable firing. I recommend charm school or anger management. Or both.

The post Pinnacle: In-Flight Wrestling first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 en route from Atlanta to Rochester
Where: Buffalo
When: Feb 17th 2010
Who: 63 on board
Why: While en route, the plane developed a problem with the slats. The flight diverted to Buffalo and made a safe landing.

The post Pinnacle Emergency Landing In Buffalo first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Memphis,TN to Gulfport,MS
Where: Memphis
When: Dec 13th 2009
Who: 48 on board
Why: After takeoff, the crew received a rudder indication.

The flight returned to Memphis.

A replacement flight was provided to Gulfport.

The post Pinnacle CRJ Replaced first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

• the cockpit warning system failed to adequately advise pilots when the speed is set below the calculated stall warning speed.
• the lack of an adequate warning in the turboprop’s flight and operating manual regarding the effect of setting a non-ice reference speed during approach and landing
• the crew’s failure to follow procedures regarding the proper response to a “stick shaker”
• the crew’s failure to follow procedures regarding “non-pertinent conversation” by the flight crew during the descent and approach.

Although Bombardier is withholding comment until the NTSB completes its investigation, a spokesman pointed out that the existing avionics are reliable and certified; and there are currently no requirements for systems to report abnormally low air speed.

Click to view large photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Frank Robitaille

What: Continental Airlines Flight 3407, Bombardier Q400 turboprop operated by regional carrier Colgan Air en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Where: Clarence Center, New York.
When: Thursday Feb 12 struck a house at 10: 10 pm. Two homes were affected.
Who: 44 passengers and four crew members, 1 off-duty pilot, 1 person on the ground, all fatalities. The passenger manifest has not officially been released.
Why: The New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest. But the plane crashed with its nose pointed to the northeast. Seconds after two automatic warnings to the pilots that the plane was not moving fast enough to stay aloft, the twin turboprop aircraft went through a “severe pitch and roll” after positioning its flaps for a landing. It did not dive into the house, as initially thought, but landed flat on the house. Icing is emerging as the possible cause for why flight 3047 fell from the sky. The flight data recorder has been collected and is currently being examined.

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The post Colgan Air Reports Lack of Speed Warning first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: United Airlines Express / Pinnacle Airlines / Colgan Airlines two-engine SAAB 340 en route from Parkersburg, WV
Where: Dulles International Airport
When: 3:35pm Oct 24 2009
Who: 11 passengers
Why: While en route from West Virginia, the flight suffered turbulence, injuring a flight attendant and a passenger. Both struck their heads.

The plane made an emergency landing amid heavy rain and with gusty winds at Dulles; and both injured women were taken by ambulance to the hospital. An injured male passenger was treated at the airport.

The post Turbulence Injures 3 over Dulles first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Continental Airlines Flight 3407, Bombardier Q400 turboprop operated by regional carrier Colgan Air en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Where: Clarence Center, New York.
When: Thursday Feb 12 2009 10 pm.
Who: 44 passengers and four crew members, 1 off-duty pilot, 1 person on the ground, all fatalities. The passenger manifest has not officially been released.
Why: The New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest. But the plane crashed with its nose pointed to the northeast. Seconds after two automatic warnings to the pilots that the plane was not moving fast enough to stay aloft, the twin turboprop aircraft went through a “severe pitch and roll” after positioning its flaps for a landing. It did not dive into the house, as initially thought, but landed flat on the house.

Although Icing is emerged as a factor for why flight 3047 fell, it has been found that the flight’s captain had lied on his job application to Colgan Air and only reported one of three failed FAA check rides. The co-pilot who could not afford to live in NY on her salary had flight-hopped across the country from Seattle and is recorded mentioning “a couch with her name on it.” The FAA investigators believe pilots made errors that contributed to the crash.

The post FAA Investigating Buffalo NY Crash first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The rest of the passengers were placed on another flight out of Louisville.

Is it possible that pilots and airlines should actually avoid flying during severe weather conditions? I know it is an audacious thing to suggest. Human beings would much prefer to assert dominion over all things natural than to do something that would require a little common sense, especially if it would mean we actually had to wait an hour before taking off.

The post Northwest Airlines Encounters Turbulence over Kentucky first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Northwest/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from La Crosse WI to Detroit.
Where: La Crosse
When: Jul 18th 2009
Why: When the control panel indicated nose gear issues, the pilot opted to return to La Crosse, where they made a safe landing.

The post Pinnacle Flight Nosegear Issues first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane will continue to Memphis on Saturday.

The temperature in Jackson was 93, and the heat index was 101.`

The post Pinnacle Emergency Landing in Jackson first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.