Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 accident near Muskegon, Michigan, May 5, 1993
On May 5, 1993 at about 2:15 am local time, a Aerospatiale ATR-42-300, registered N254AT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Muskegon, Michigan (Muskegon County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 44 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S MISJUDGING THE FLARE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 5, 1993 · about 2:15 am local time
- Place
- Muskegon, Michigan · Muskegon County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 44 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale ATR-42-300
- Registration
- N254AT · registry record · serial 0254
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON LANDING THE PITCH ATTITUDE OF THE AIRPLANE EXCEEDED 10 DEGREES NOSE UP AND THE AFT FUSELAGE CONTACTED THE RUNWAY.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,145 hours in all; 1,775 in this make and model; 184 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,567 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 18, 1993; 121 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 36,870 lb
- Seats: 49
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW 120 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Simmons Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL at 1:37 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6, 6,501 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,800 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:40 am from MKG, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 41 |
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.