Boeing B-737-201 incident near Richmond, Virginia, June 10, 1996
On June 10, 1996 at about 2:00 am local time, a Boeing B-737-201, registered N221US, was involved in an incident near Richmond, Virginia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 yaw/roll upset of the airplane resulting from the movement of the rudder surface to its blowdown limit. The rudder surface most likely deflected in a direction opposite to that commanded by the pilots as a result of a jam of the main rudder power control unit servo valve secondary slide to the servo valve housing offset from its neutral position and overtravel of the primary slide.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 10, 1996 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Richmond, Virginia · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing B-737-201
- Registration
- N221US · registry record
- 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 Boeing 737-200 experienced a yaw/roll upset while operating at an airspeed of about 250 knots and an altitude of about 4,000 feet msl in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions. The pilots were able to regain control of the airplane and land at the destination airport without further incident. As a result of previous Boeing 737 rudder anomalies, including the fatal accident involving USAir flight 427, a Boeing 737-300, which entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted terrain near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, on September 8, 1994, Safety Board investigators initiated an investigation into this incident. Investigators conducted detailed examinations of pertinent rudder control components, reviewed flight test data, performed a computer simulation, and completed an analysis of human performance data. As a result, the Safety Board concluded that the rudder reversed, moving to its right blowdown limit when the captain commanded left rudder, consistent with a jam of the main rudder power control unit servo valve secondary slide to the servo valve housing offset from its neutral position and overtravel of the primary slide. The complete report of this incident investigation, including all analyses, is contained in the final report of the USAir flight 427 investigation which can be found on the NTSB web site at the following link: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1999/AAR9901.pdf
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
- Operator: Eastwind Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: RIC VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Wind: from 150° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; scat at 900 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 48 |
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.