Amateur-built DHC-8-102 incident near Charleston, West Virginia, January 22, 1997
On January 22, 1997 at about 2:10 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-8-102, registered N852MA, was involved in an incident near Charleston, West Virginia (Yeager airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 11 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a fractured fusion weld in the piston of the roll spoiler servoactuator, which allowed the plug at the base of the piston to separate and jam the piston. A factor relating to the incident was: the inadequate design of the airplane's roll spoiler servoactuator piston.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 22, 1997 · about 2:10 pm local time
- Place
- Charleston, West Virginia · Yeager · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 11 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-8-102
- Registration
- N852MA · registry record · serial 349
- 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 said that during takeoff rotation, the airplane rolled left. He noted no warning lights or horns before or during the event. He applied right control wheel and right rudder to stop the left roll. After the captain had the airplane's roll stabilized, he 'made a wide left pattern and returned to the departure airport.' The airplane was landed without further incident. A postincident inspection of the airplane revealed that the left inboard roll spoiler was 'jammed and partially deployed.' An examination and disassembly of the roll spoiler servoactuator revealed that a plug (PN A50993-1), which had been fusion-welded into the base of the piston (PN A50992-1), had separated and lodged between the base of the piston and the shims, restricting the piston's movement. Dowty Aerospace (the manufacturer) had recorded six previous failures of fusion welds in pistons on DHC-8 roll spoiler servoactuators before this incident.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,484 hours in all; 4,330 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 7,481 as pilot in command; 2,114 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,665 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 19, 1997; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 27,000 lb
- Seats: 39
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW120A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mesaba Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: CRW at 2:10 pm
- Destination: ROA Roanoke VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 6,302 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 10 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from CRW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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.