Ian Nelson

11/08/2016
Meteorology
Bret T.

ICING ON COMAIR FLIGHT 3272

Flight 3272 was an Emb-120RT Brazilia manufactured aircraft. In the
winter of 1997 on January 9th during an ice storm flight 3272 crashed outside
of DTW in Michigan. A very possible cause of the crash is uneven
accumulation of ice built up mainly on the left wing. The plane crashed upon
approach and left no survivors. After studying the crash through numerous
online resources such as the published NTSB report on this specific crash, the
EMB airport planning manual and websites such as
www.lessonslearned.faa.gov and www.ntsb.gov. After studying this crash Im
here to show us as pilots how we can better fly our planes in icing conditions
by overviewing the events of flight 3272 and the aftermath. A lot of
procedure has changed since 1997 however there is still a lot we can learn
from observing the events of Comair flight 3272. First I will cover the
situation flight 3272 was in regarding weather, next Ill describe the events
of flight 3272, and finally I will cover what was done between the NTSB, FAA
and other aviation organizations in response to the crash.

The EMB-120RT is a Brazilian airplane equipped with adequate de-icing

equipment for the flight planned by the crew on the morning of January 9th
1997. The Emb-120 Brasilia airport planning handbook reports that the
airplane is equipped with numerous electric
deicing points such as the windows, the
propellers etc. with pneumatic de-icing boots
on the wings. De-icing boots work by inflating
and increasing their surface area to break off
the existing ice on the leading edge of the
Figure 1

wing (fig1). The NTSB report on this Comair

crash reports that most of the de-icing equipment was being used however
the pneumatic boots were not used. Fear did circulate in the aviation
community over the boots because the boots inflate to break off the ice and
many pilots were concerned about the boots inflating and letting more ice
accumulate in the crevices of the pneumatic system. This may be a reason
the pilots of flight 3272 may have not used the de-icing boots in their
approach to DTW.
Both of the pilots of flight 3272 were experienced and had been
working for the company for adequate time to understand the aircraft, its
performance in IMC conditions and its systems. Although the NTSB report on
the flight did not release the names of the pilots it did release the years of
working for the company in this particular aircraft, the EMB120. The pilot was
hired by Comair in 1990 as the first officer to the EMB120 thus having seven

years of experience before the crash. The co-pilot was hired in 1994 and had
two years experience flying the EMB120. The flight also had two flight
attendants and numerous passengers, all of which died in the accident.
On Jan 9, 1997 the weather was inclement. An ice storm had been
growing over the northern United States for enough time to place the crash
below an occluded front directly to the south of Detroit. At the time of the
crash there was a substantially large cold front
headed south east over the U.S. getting warped
by numerous low pressure centuries over midcontinent (fig. 2). Radar imagery detected heavy
Figure 2
Map from 2000Z 9 January
1997 (3PM EST 9 January
1997) http://www.raymondcmartinjr.com/

precipitation in the area of the crash and suggest

heavy IMC conditions. The county sheriffs office
in Monroe (located on the ground) stated to NY

times journalist Keith Bradsher that There was heavy, heavy snow and
visibility was almost zero. The dew point spread varied between 1 and two
degrees within the hour of the crash (reports the NTSB) and paved the way
for very low hanging clouds. Because the clouds were so low the plane was
very likely to spend much of its approach within saturated clouds building
icing on the wings. In fact, the flight 3272 was in a holding pattern outside of
DTW before being vectored in by ATC for landing. Because of this the flight
had substantial time for icing to accumulate on the wings.

Prior to the incidence flight 3272 had been de-iced in Cincinnati and
continued normally until the approach to Detroit. Upon entry to DTW
airspace flight 3272 was put into a traffic holding position for several loops
until being vectored down to a lower altitude. 3272 was vectored through a
series of turns but the real turning point of the flight was ATCs decision to
slow the flight down to 150 knots.
What was even worse was the flight
crews agreeableness to maintain
that airspeed because the aircrafts
Figure 3

stall speed was fewer than 150

knots in icing conditions! The flight data recorder recorded that the pilots
never used the pneumatic de-icing boots in flight! This contributed to the
buildup of ice on the wings and consequently, the loss of airspeed for the
aircraft. The aircraft was vectored into a left turn while maintaining that slow
airspeed at the same time the autopilot was correcting by heavily turning the
yoke for a right turn. Uneven amounts of ice had accumulated on the left
wing which decreased the lifting force on the left side of the wing (fig. 3).
During the turn the autopilot disengaged and because of the loss of life on
the left wing and the returning yoke to neutral the airplane entered a steep
turn dive towards the ground at around 4,000 feet AGL. The plane hit the
ground outside of the DTW airport and flight investigators were sent out to
the crash about one hour after the crash.

The NTSB sent numerous recommendations to the FAA. Safety

recommendation A-97-031 asked the FAA to adjust the airspeed minimums
for all EMB120s under icing conditions. The FAA was quick to take this advice
from the NTSB and soon the EMB120 manual was edited with the airspeed
minimum revision. As pilots we can be aware of our minimums for our
aircraft which we fly. It is important to know our minimums in standard
conditions however it becomes apparent after studying the crash of Comair
flight 3272 that we also need to know our airspeed minimums under icing
conditions so we can avoid stalling in flight and on the approach.

In conclusion, Comair flight 3272, being an EMB-120 Brasilia flew into

IMC and icing conditions on January 9th, 1997 crashing just outside of DTW
international. The NTSB, after investigating the incident ruled the cause of
crash to be both uneven accumulations of ice on the wings, the pilots
negligence in not using the pneumatic de-icing boots as well as the
disengaging of the auto pilot during a left banking turn. The NTSB sent
numerous recommendations to the FAA, and few were accepted such as a
request to further study aircraft related icing and the request to change
airspeed minimums for the EMB120 in icing conditions. We can all learn from
this crash by being observant to our speeds during icing as well as properly
using our de-icing equipment to prevent future disaster.

Website Sources
http://www.embraercommercialaviation.com/amps/apm_120.pdf
http://vfrmap.com/?type=vfrc&lat=42.212&lon=-83.353&zoom=10 ,
http://www.airportsworldwide.com/usa/michigan/detroit_metropolitan_wayne_county_michigan.php
http://www.raymondcmartinjr.com/weather/1997/09-Jan-97NationalWeatherServiceForecasts.html
https://www.freemaptools.com/measure-distance.htm
http://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?
TabID=1&LLID=24&LLTypeID=2#nullhttp://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?
TabID=1&LLID=24&LLTypeID=2#null
http://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?
TabID=1&LLID=24&LLTypeID=2#nullhttp://lessonslearned. faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?
TabID=1&LLID=24&LLTypeID=2#null

http://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?
TabID=1&LLID=24&LLTypeID=2#nullhttp://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?
TabID=1&LLID=24&LLTypeID=2#null
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA4vYENBb5w
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/Inflight_Icing_Encounter_and_Uncontrolled_Collision_with_Terrain_COMAIR_Flight_3272
_Embraer_EMB-120RT_N265CA_Monroe_Michi.aspx
http://curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter5/Ency_Atmos/Aircraft_Icing.
pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/10/us/all-29-on-commuter-aircraft-die-in-crashoutside-detroit.html
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/_layouts/ntsb.recsearch/Recom
mendation.aspx?Rec=A-97-031
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR9804_body.pdf
"Event Summary." In-flight Icing Encounter and Uncontrolled Collision with Terrain, COMAIR Flight
3272, Embraer EMB-120RT, N265CA, Monroe, Michigan, January 9, 1997. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov.
2016.