British Aerospace RJ-70 incident near New York, New York, July 25, 1995
On July 25, 1995 at about 1:24 pm local time, a British Aerospace RJ-70, registered N833BE, was involved in an incident near New York, New York (John F. Kennedy airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 24 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the aileron interconnect became uncoupled, when an abrupt and/or large aileron movement was made in response to a wake turbulence encounter, while on a VOR approach with the autopilot engaged. A factor relating to the incident was: inadequate in-flight planning/decision by the aircrew, which allowed the wake turbulence encounter.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 25, 1995 · about 1:24 pm local time
- Place
- New York, New York · John F. Kennedy · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 24 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- British Aerospace RJ-70
- Registration
- N833BE · no longer on the register · serial E 1224
- 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 Avro RJ-70 was on approach, about 1500 ft agl, with the auto-pilot engaged, when it encountered wake turbulence from a preceding Airbus 340 and rolled left. The flying pilot, who occupied the right seat, reached for the yoke to disconnect the auto-pilot and to apply corrective aileron input. He applied large and/or abrupt movement of the ailerons before achieving an auto-pilot disconnect. The ailerons uncoupled, after which, the pilot continued with the approach and landed without further incident. A postincident test revealed that the breakaway forces for the aileron interconnect detent strut were within the manufacturer's specification. The manufacturer reported that movement of the aileron flight controls from the side opposite of the engaged auto-pilot servo could result in an aileron uncoupling. Once uncoupled, the left yoke controlled the left aileron and roll spoiler, and the right yoke controlled the right aileron and roll spoiler.
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: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,000 hours in all; 2,300 in this make and model; 144 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 7,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,917 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 84,000 lb
- Seats: 73
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming LF-507-1F (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CLE Cleveland OH at 11:55 am
- Destination: JFK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13L, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:30 pm from JFK, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 20 |
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.