Saab 340B incident near San Antonio, Texas, January 10, 2001
On January 10, 2001 at about 4:25 pm local time, a Saab 340B, registered N394AE, was involved in an incident near San Antonio, Texas. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 27 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the ingestion of ice/slush into both engines, which resulted in dual engine power fluctuations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 10, 2001 · about 4:25 pm local time
- Place
- San Antonio, Texas · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 27 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Saab 340B
- Registration
- N394AE · no longer on the register · serial 340B394
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight was in cruise, in icing conditions, when both engines experienced momentary power fluctuations (PF) as a result of ice ingestion. Evaluation of the flight data recorder information revealed that the left engine experienced four Type II (compressor stall) PF events, and the right engine experienced one Type I (partial/full quenching of the engine's combustor flame) PF event and one Type II event. The flight descended, the power fluctuations ceased, and the flight proceeded to land at its intended destination. The Saab 340 fleet has undergone extensive research, with regards to power fluctuations, since it was certified in the U.S. in 1985. In 1985, it was determined that ice accumulates on the engine inlet splitter lip, breaks off, and enters the engine resulting in a flame-out. An auto-ignition system was developed to provide a means to re-light the engine. Aircraft certification rules require that no accumulation of engine inlet ice occur that will adversely affect engine operation. In 2000, the FAA's position was that even though no re-design of the engine inlet was found that would preclude ice accumulation on the splitter lip, the risk associated with a PF event was acceptable. Furthermore, the FAA determined that the risk of a dual engine power loss due to the existence of an icing condition and failure of both engines' auto-ignition systems was acceptably low. Lastly, the FAA stated that inappropriate crew response risks associated with PFs combined with an in-flight shut down were quantitatively indeterminate, but deemed qualitatively acceptable by FAA certification pilots and human factors specialists.
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: 13,300 hours in all; 9,200 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 4,365 as pilot in command; 693 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,630 hours in all; 1,099 in this make and model; 245 in the last 90 days; 79 in the last 30 days; 1,464 as pilot in command; 1,212 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 24, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,752.2 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 10, 2001; 3.2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 29,000 lb
- Seats: 37
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: General Electric CT7-9B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Eagle Airlines, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dfw Airport TX at 3:12 pm
- Destination: LRD Laredo TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 24 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N394AE the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW01IA051.