Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B accident near Tupelo, Mississippi, July 16, 2002
On July 16, 2002 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B, registered N403XJ, was involved in an accident near Tupelo, Mississippi (Tupelo Regional airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the ground agent to follow procedures and directives and to maintain a visual lookout due to a diversion of attention caused by paperwork being sucked toward the rotating propeller, resulting in collision between her hand and the propeller.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 16, 2002 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Tupelo, Mississippi · Tupelo Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SF340B
- Registration
- N403XJ · no longer on the register · serial 403
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to numerous eyewitnesses, the airline ramp agent marshaled the arriving Saab-340B to its parking spot, chocked the nose wheel, and was in the process of delivering flight papers to the captain's access port when the papers blew out of her breast pocket. As she tried to retrieve the loose papers, her right hand contacted the winding down left propeller, and her thumb and two fingers were severed. Her manager characterized the cause as a case of impulse reactiveness on the part of the ramp agent in spite of having been trained on ground handling of the Saab 340 aircraft.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 1,900 as pilot in command; 1,350 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 21, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 1,300 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command; 900 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 13, 2002
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,417 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 7, 2002; 343 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 29,000 lb
- Seats: 37
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: General Electric CT7-9B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: General Electric CT7-9B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mesaba Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: MEM Memphis TN at 1:35 pm
- Destination: TUP Tupelo MS
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from TUP
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.