Embraer EMB-120RT accident near Brunswick, Georgia, April 5, 1991
On April 5, 1991 at about 7:51 pm local time, a Embraer EMB-120RT, registered N270AS, was destroyed in an accident near Brunswick, Georgia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 23 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE LOSS OF CONTROL IN FLIGHT AS A RESULT OF A MALFUNCTION OF THE LEFT ENGINE PROPELLER CONTROL UNIT WHICH ALLOWED THE PROPELLER BLADE ANGLES TO GO BELOW THE FLIGHT IDLE POSITION. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE DEFICIENT DESIGN OF THE PROPELLER CONTROL UNIT BY HAMILTON STANDARD AND THE APPROVAL OF THE DESIGN BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION. THE DESIGN DID NOT CORRECTLY EVALUATE THE FAILURE MODE THAT OCCURRED DURING THIS FLIGHT, WHICH RESULTED IN AN UNCOMMANDED AND UNCORRECTABLE MOVEMENT OF THE BLADES OF THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT PROPELLER BELOW THE FLIGHT IDLE POSITION. (NTSB REPORT AAR-92/03)
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 1991 · about 7:51 pm local time
- Place
- Brunswick, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 23 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer EMB-120RT · all EMB-120RTs on the register
- Registration
- N270AS · registry record · serial 120-218
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY TURNED OR ROLLED LEFT UNTIL THE WINGS WERE PERPENDICULAR TO THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE THEN FELL IN A NOSE-DOWN ATTITUDE. EXAM OF THE LEFT PROP COMPONENTS INDICATED A BLADE ANGLE OF ABOUT 3 DEG, WHILE THE LEFT PROP CONTROL UNIT (PCU) BALLSCREW POSITION WAS CONSISTENT WITH A COMMANDED BLADE ANGLE OF 79.2 DEG. EXTREME WEAR ON THE PCU QUILL SPLINE TEETH, WHICH NORMALLY ENGAGED THE TITANIUM-NITRIDED SPLINES OF THE PROP TRANSFER TUBE, WAS FOUND. THE TITANIUM-NITRIDED SURFACE WAS MUCH HARDER AND ROUGHER THAN THE NITRIDED SURFACE OF THE QUILL. THEREFORE, THE TRANSFER TUBE SPLINES ACTED LIKE A FILE AND CAUSED ABNORMAL WEAR OF THE GEAR TEETH ON THE QUILL. WEAR OF THE QUILL WAS NOT CONSIDERED DURING THE CERTIFICATION OF THE PROPELLER 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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,724 hours in all; 5,720 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 816 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 1, 1991; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 25,529 lb
- Seats: 30
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW-118 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Atlantic Southeast Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 6:47 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from BQK, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 20 |
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.