Fokker F-28 MK 1000 incident near Detroit, Michigan, January 26, 1993
On January 26, 1993 at about 2:52 pm local time, a Fokker F-28 MK 1000, registered N452US, was involved in an incident near Detroit, Michigan. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 42 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
IMPROPER LUBRICATION OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER GEARBOX BY COMPANY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL. A FACTOR WAS THE MANUFACTURER'S INADEQUATE SERVICE PROCEDURE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 26, 1993 · about 2:52 pm local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 42 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fokker F-28 MK 1000 F.28 MK 10
- Registration
- N452US · registry record · serial 11105
- 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 CAPTAIN OBTAINED NO RESPONSE TO NOSE-UP STABILIZER TRIM DURING DESCENT. NORMAL NOSE-DOWN TRIM REMAINED OPERABLE; ALTERNATE TRIM WAS NOT ATTEMPTED. THE CREW REPORTED A JAMMED STABILIZER AND LANDED WITH NOSE-DOWN TRIM. DISASSEMBLY OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER CONTROL UNIT SHOWED INADEQUATE LUBRICANT AND EXTENSIVE CORROSION IN A GEARBOX. THE AIRFRAME MANUFACTURER'S PROCEDURE FOR REPLENISHING THE GEARBOX LUBRICANT COULD RESULT IN UNDERSERVICING. THE OPERATOR OBSERVED A GEARBOX SERVICE INTERVAL WHICH WAS 250% OF THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDATION.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,900 hours in all; 4,400 in this make and model; 151 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30,309 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 9, 1992; 1,265 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 56,700 lb
- Seats: 65
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce SPEY 555-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BWI Baltimore MD at 1:40 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from DTW, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 38 |
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.