Fokker 28-4000 accident near Flushing, New York, March 23, 1992
On March 23, 1992 at about 2:35 am local time, a Fokker 28-4000, registered N485US, was destroyed in an accident near Flushing, New York (Laguardia airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 27 people were killed, 9 people were seriously injured and 12 people had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILURE OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY AND THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION TO PROVIDE FLIGHTCREWS WITH PROCEDURES, REQUIREMENTS, AND CRITERIA COMPATIBLE WITH DEPARTURE DELAYS IN CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO AIRFRAME ICING AND THE DECISION BY THE FLIGHTCREW TO TAKE OFF WITHOUT POSITIVE ASSURANCE THAT THE AIRPLANE'S WINGS WERE FREE OF ICE ACCUMULATION AFTER 35 MINUTES OF EXPOSURE TO PRECIPITATION FOLLOWING DEICING. THE ICE CONTAMINATION ON THE WINGS RESULTED IN AN AERODYNAMIC STALL AND LOSS OF CONTROL AFTER LIFTOFF. CONTRIBUTING TO THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT WERE THE INAPPROPRIATE PROCEDURES USED BY, AND INADEQUATE COORDINATION BETWEEN, THE FLIGHTCREW THAT LED TO A TAKEOFF ROTATION AT A LOWER THAN PRESCRIBED AIRSPEED. (NTSB REPORT AAR-93/020)
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 1992 · about 2:35 am local time
- Place
- Flushing, New York · Laguardia
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 27 people were killed, 9 people were seriously injured and 12 people had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Fokker 28-4000
- Registration
- N485US · no longer on the register · serial 11235
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN DEICED 2 TIMES BEFORE LEAVING THE GATE. HOWEVER, 35 MINUTES HAD ELAPSED BETWEEN THE 2ND DEICING & TAKEOFF DURING WHICH TIME ICE ACCUMULATED ON THE WING. THIS TIME PERIOD EXCEEDED THE TYPE I DEICING FLUID SAFE HOLDOVER TIME (11 MIN). THE 1ST OFFICER CALLED VR 11 KTS EARLY, AND THE CAPT ROTATED ABOUT 5 KTS EARLY. AFTER LIFTOFF THE AIRPLANE STALLED AND CAME TO REST PARTIALLY INVERTED AND SUBMERGED IN THE BAY. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE OPERATOR DID NOT REQUIRE A SPECIFIC EXTERIOR INSPECTION FOR ICE CONTAMINATION OF F-28 AIRPLANES DURING PERIODS OF FREEZING PRECIPITATION. ACCIDENT HISTORY SHOWS THAT NONSLATTED, TURBOJET, TRANSPORT-CATEGORY AIRPLANES HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF TAKEOFF ACCIDENTS WHERE UNDETECTED UPPER WING ICE CONTAMINATION HAS BEEN CITED AS THE PROBABLE CAUSE OR SOLE CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,820 hours in all; 2,200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,462 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 73,000 lb
- Seats: 85
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce SPEY M555-15P (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Usair, INC.
The flight
- Destination: CLE Cleveland OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 0.8 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:45 pm from LGA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Passengers | 25 | 8 | 11 | 3 |
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.