Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340A accident near Atlantic City, New Jersey, March 3, 1999
On March 3, 1999 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340A, registered N343BE, was involved in an accident near Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 32 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Unanticipated in-flight turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 3, 1999 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 32 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340A
- Registration
- N343BE · no longer on the register · serial 101
- 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 airplane was in a descent, the seat belt sign was turned on, and the flight attendant had returned to her seat after conducting a walk-through. She was 'waiting for the 10 out call,' and was not belted in at the time. The airplane encountered turbulence, and the flight attendant was thrown from her seat. Her head hit the ceiling of the airplane, and when she came down, she hit her back on the jumpseat, which had retracted. At the time of the accident, the airplane's weather radar was on and operating normally. There were no reports of turbulence along the route of flight, and it had been smooth both before and after the turbulence event.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,800 hours in all; 7,500 in this make and model; 178 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days; 8,950 as pilot in command; 1,380 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,286 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 3, 1999; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 28,500 lb
- Seats: 37
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CT7-5A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Business Express Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: BOS Boston MA at 7:18 pm
- Destination: PHL Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 2 | ||
| Passengers | 30 |
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.