British Aerospace JETSTREAM 3201 accident near Dulles, Virginia, October 20, 2000
On October 20, 2000 at about 9:00 pm local time, a British Aerospace JETSTREAM 3201, registered N488UE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dulles, Virginia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 12 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The manufacturer's lack of dimensional inspection and repair requirements for the gearbox forward and aft diaphragm, which caused the bull gear to shift and resulted in an uncontained separation of the bull gear during flight
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2000 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Dulles, Virginia
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 12 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- British Aerospace JETSTREAM 3201 JETSTREAM
- Registration
- N488UE · no longer on the register · serial 907
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was on the arrival to the destination airport, and was cleared to descend from 8,000 feet to 5,000 feet. A descent was initiated by reducing power on both engines. As the airplane descended through 6,500 feet, the crew heard a loud bang, followed by a vibration, and illumination of the right engine 'FIRE' warning light. The right engine RPM dropped to 80 percent and stabilized at that value. The fire bell also sounded. The crew identified the right engine, discharged fire bottle, and the 'FIRE' warning light extinguished. The engine was secured and the airplane landed uneventfully at IAD. Examination of the airplane revealed that the right engine bullgear experienced an uncontained separation in flight. A 4 5/8-inch long section of the bullgear rim penetrated the right side of the fuselage and was recovered from the left side interior cabin wall above seat 1A's seat cushion. Examination of the right engine gearbox revealed that the bull gear was broken into at least six pieces. The gearbox diaphragm's bull gear bearing bore was measured and found to be over the engine manual's allowable wear limit. The engine's maintenance records show that the bull gear was installed new at the last repair, 597 hours and 776 cycles before the event. Metallurgical examination of the bull gear revealed an initial fatigue fracture that originated on the front face of the bull gear outboard of the hub. There were two other fatigue fractures that were on either side of the initial fatigue fracture. The examination also revealed that the bull gear's web thickness and material hardness conformed to the manufacturer's design requirements. As a result of this investigation, the FAA was considering an airworthiness directive that would require a recurring sampling of oil to be analyzed for increased levels of metal that could be indicative to bull and high speed pinion gear wear.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,009 hours in all; 149 in this make and model; 64 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 2,607 as pilot in command; 1,027 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 22,911 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 6, 2000; 84 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,204 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-12-UH (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Atlantic Coast Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: PHF Newport News VA at 8:32 pm
- Destination: IAD VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 pm from IAD, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 10 |
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.