Aerospatiale ATR-72-212 accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, December 1, 1998
On December 1, 1998 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Aerospatiale ATR-72-212, registered N414WF, was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 51 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an abrupt maneuver in response to a traffic avoidance system alert, resulting in a flight attendant falling and breaking a leg.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 1, 1998 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 51 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale ATR-72-212 · all ATR-72-212s on the register
- Registration
- N414WF · no longer on the register · serial 414
- 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 flight was at 4,000 feet when Air Traffic Control gave the crew a traffic report. The crew could not locate the traffic, because at the time they were flying in instrument meteorological conditions. About 3 minutes later the crew received a TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) alert to climb. The flight climbed from 4,000 feet and leveled off at 5,300 feet. During the climb both flight attendants fell. One flight attendant broke her leg, the other was not injured. The flight attendants were standing completing their pre-landing duties when the event occurred. The pilot radioed ATC that he needed to have an ambulance meet the flight when it landed. The flight landed without further incident, and the flight attendant was taken to a local hospital.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 1,700 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 11,000 as pilot in command; 700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,184 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 48,567 lb
- Seats: 68
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW 127 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NAS Nassua OF at 2:45 pm
- Destination: FLL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 pm from FLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 3 | ||
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N414WF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.