Aerospatiale ATR 42-300 incident near Champaign, Illinois, July 23, 2000
On July 23, 2000 at about 10:31 pm local time, a Aerospatiale ATR 42-300, registered N421TE, was involved in an incident near Champaign, Illinois. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 37 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the aileron trim switch due to foreign material contamination.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 23, 2000 · about 10:31 pm local time
- Place
- Champaign, Illinois · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 37 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale ATR 42-300
- Registration
- N421TE · registry record · serial 102
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was undamaged during a precautionary landing following a flight control difficulty while in cruise flight. The flight crew was unable to trim the aircraft for level flight. The pilot reported initially that 80 to 100 pounds of control wheel force was required to maintain wings level. Subsequently, the pilot estimated the force required as 50 to 70 pounds. The trim switch was found to be intermittent and subsequent examination confirmed this. The switch was found to be contaminated with, "... salt, dust, hairs and other organic materials." Corrosion of the switch contacts was also found.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,773 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 9, 2000; 122 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 36,825 lb
- Seats: 52
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW120 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Trans States Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: SBN South Bend IN at 9:40 pm
- Destination: STL Saint Louis MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 167°F (75°C), dew point 135°F (57°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from CMI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 34 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.