Boeing - Canada (De Havilland) DHC-8-102 incident near Baltimore, Maryland, March 12, 2000
On March 12, 2000 at about 11:54 pm local time, a Boeing - Canada (De Havilland) DHC-8-102, registered N838EX, suffered minor damage in an incident near Baltimore, Maryland (Baltimore-Washington Int airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 32 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the missing elevator stop bumper that resulted in elevator over-travel and damage to the elevator. A factor in the incident was the abrupt release of the elevator control lock in windy conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 12, 2000 · about 11:54 pm local time
- Place
- Baltimore, Maryland · Baltimore-Washington Int
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 32 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing - Canada (De Havilland) DHC-8-102
- Registration
- N838EX · no longer on the register · serial 220
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the flight, the airplane required full nose-down trim and forward pressure on the yoke to maintain level flight. As a result, a logbook entry was made, and inspection of the airplane revealed damage due to contact between the elevator and rudder. Examination of the elevator gust lock mechanism revealed that only three of four elevator stop bumpers were installed. The upper right bumper was missing, but the mount bolt was still in place. The upper left bumper was cracked, chipped, crazed, and displayed a longitudinal crack that ran its entire length. FDR data showed that when the airplane taxied onto the departure runway for the previous flight, the gust lock was released, and rapid deflection of the elevator control surfaces and the control yoke was noted. At the point where the control yoke returned to its nominal position, the LH and RH elevator graph lines were approximately 4 degrees apart. These lines remained separated by approximately 4 degrees throughout the remainder of the flight. Examination of prior flights revealed the elevator control surface graph lines were superimposed in all modes of flight. Winds at the departure airport were from 300 degrees at 22 knots, gusting to 27 knots. A product safety representative for the airplane manufacturer 'guaranteed' the airplane would have been undamaged during the rapid elevator deflection, had the elevator stop bumpers been installed.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,990 hours in all; 7,200 in this make and model; 175 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 25,347 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 8, 2000; 241 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 34,700 lb
- Seats: 40
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW 120A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGA New York NY at 9:30 pm
- Destination: BWI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 14 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,900 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:54 pm from BWI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 29 |
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.