Atr ATR-42 incident near Detroit, Michigan, December 18, 1986
On December 18, 1986 at about 1:59 pm local time, a Atr ATR-42, registered N423MQ, was involved in an incident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metro airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 41 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 18, 1986 · about 1:59 pm local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit Metro · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 41 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Atr ATR-42
- Registration
- N423MQ · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARR, THE FLT WAS VECTORED FOR AN ILS RWY 3R APCH. AT THAT TIME, ATIS INFO INDCD MOD MIXED ICING IN CLDS. THE CAPT RPRTD THE ACFT ENTERED THE CLOUD TOPS AT 5500', WAS IN THE CLDS APRX 5 MIN & ACCUMULATED ABT 1.5' OF RIME ICE. HE STATEDICE ACCUMULATION WAS RAPID, SO THEY DECIDED TO WAIT UNTIL THEY WERE IN THE CLR TO CYCLE THE BOOTS TO PREVENT BRIDGING. AFTER INTERCEPTING THE ILS GLIDE SLOPE ON A COUPLED APCH, THE ACFT WAS SLOWED TO EXTD THE GEAR & FLAPS. A CALL FOR 'FLAPS 15' WAS MADE & APRX 3 SEC LATER, THE AUTOPLT DISCONNECTED AS THE ACFT WAS DSCNDG THRU ABT 1900' AGL AT APRX 146 KTS. AT APRX THE SAME TIME FRAME, THE DE-ICE BOOTS WERE CYCLED AS THE ACFT BROKE OUT OF WX & THE ACFT WENT OUT OF CTL. IT ENTERED BANK OSCILLATIONS (UP TO 44 DEG) & ABRUPTLY LOST ABT 500' BEFORE THE CREW RCVRD, BUT THEY LNDD SUCCESSFULLY. INV REVEALED THE RECENTLY TRAINED CREW DIDN'T GET SUFFICIENT TRAINING IN USE OF DE-ICE EQUIP FM COMPANY INSTRUCTORS, WHOWERE TRAINED AT THE FACTORY. AFTER THIS INCIDENT, THE MANUFACTURER REVISED THE FLT MANUAL TO PROVIDE MORE SPECIFIC INFO.
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: 3,965 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 1,770 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 40,000 lb
- Seats: 50
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW-120 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TVC Traverse City MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 3R, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 pm from DTW, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| 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.