Boeing - Canada (De Havilland) DHC-8-102 accident near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1999
On October 7, 1999 at about 2:30 am local time, a Boeing - Canada (De Havilland) DHC-8-102, registered N818EX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 15 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in flight collision with birds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 7, 1999 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 15 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing - Canada (De Havilland) DHC-8-102
- Registration
- N818EX · no longer on the register · serial 235
- 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 Captain stated that he was in cruise flight, about 5 nautical miles north of the airport, approximately 3,000 feet mean-sea-level, when he encountered multiple bird strikes.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,260 hours in all; 6,500 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21,363 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 4, 1999; 307 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 34,500 lb
- Seats: 40
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW120A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Allegheny Airlines INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PHL PA at 2:16 am
- Destination: ABE Allentown PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 am from PHL, 180 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 12 |
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.