Embraer 145 incident near Jamaica, New York, December 17, 2007
On December 17, 2007 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Embraer 145, registered N272SK, suffered minor damage in an incident near Jamaica, New York (John F. Kennedy International airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 53 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 elevator control rods due to exposure to high winds while the aircraft was parked overnight. Contributing to this incident was the failure of the existing airworthiness directive to adequately detect this discrepancy given the known deficiency with the mechanical gust lock design.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 17, 2007 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Jamaica, New York · John F. Kennedy International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer 145 LR
- Registration
- N272SK · no longer on the register · serial 145306
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Prior to the incident flight, the Embraer EMB-145 was parked overnight with its tail pointed into the wind. During this time period, the winds were reported to be very high (on the order of 30-40 kts). The aircraft was equipped with a mechanical gust lock system designed to immobilize the forward torque tube of the elevator control system when the system is engaged. During takeoff, the flightcrew performed an emergency high-speed aborted takeoff because the captain felt a control anomaly during rotation. An inspection of the elevator control system components revealed that both left and right elevator control rods had fractured completely, rendering the elevator system inoperable. The elevator control rods fractured when the elevator surfaces repeatedly moved off the rear elevator stops due to wind gusts. An airworthiness directive issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (AD 2005-26-15) was already in place at the time of this incident, which mandated replacement of the mechanical gust lock system on the Embraer 145 airplane with a more effective electromechanical gust lock system and required some repetitive inspections be performed until such time as the electromechanical system was installed. However, based on the findings in this incident, the FAA determined that the interim inspections mandated by AD 2005-26-15 were not adequate to detect the discrepancies exhibited in this event. As a result, the FAA subsequently issued a new airworthiness directive (AD 2008-03-03) to improve the interim inspections required until terminating action was taken by operators and also superceded AD 2005-26-15 with AD 2008-10-08 to shorten the compliance time for installation of the electromechanical gust lock system.
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; rotorcraft: airship
- Flight time: 3,900 hours in all; 1,950 in this make and model; 1,900 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 6, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,100 hours in all; 53 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 857 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 48,500 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Chautauqua Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: JKF New York NY at 7:30 pm
- Destination: BUF Buffalo NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31L, 14,572 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 17 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 7:51 pm from BUF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 50 |
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.