Embraer EMB-145LR incident near Farmersville, Texas, January 25, 2012
On January 25, 2012 at about 1:27 am local time, a Embraer EMB-145LR, registered N639AE, was involved in an incident during enroute (climb to cruise) near Farmersville, Texas. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved.
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight's continued operation through an area containing substantial convective weather activity. Contributing to the accident was the air traffic control/traffic management unit's lack of awareness and recognition of the effect of weather movement on the departure route in use and the flight crew's acceptance of a route and limited weather deviation that was inadequate to maintain a safe distance from the thunderstorms in the area.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 25, 2012 · about 1:27 am local time
- Place
- Farmersville, Texas · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Embraer EMB-145LR · all EMB-145LRs on the register
- Registration
- N639AE · registry record · serial 145182
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A regional jet departed from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on a scheduled passenger flight to Madison, Wisconsin. About 15 minutes after takeoff, the crew declared an emergency because the airplane had been struck by lightning and requested to divert to Little Rock, Arkansas. After landing, the airplane was inspected and found to have sustained damage from the lightning strike requiring repairs to the left wing skin and rivets and replacement of the left wingtip and aileron. At the time of the incident, the airplane was being handled by controllers at the Fort Worth Air Traffic Control Center. Significant convective weather was in the area and along the airplane's route, resulting in closures of several routes into and out of the Dallas area. The controllers did not provide specific information on the location of the convective activity along the airplane's route until the crew asked for the information. However, in response to a question, the controllers did advise the crew that there was moderate to heavy precipitation ahead. The crew attempted to identify areas where they could divert to avoid the convective activity, but the controller was unable to approve significant deviations because of other traffic flows in the vicinity. Shortly afterward, the lightning strike occurred. Because of the lightning strike and requests for weather deviations by other aircraft flying through the same area, the center's Traffic Management Unit began rerouting aircraft away from the area and toward other routes less affected by convective weather. When interviewed, traffic management staff noted that this pattern was normal: it was not unusual to wait until pilots refused to fly a route because of weather impact before discontinuing its use. This incident was included as an example in a recommendation letter to the FAA, available at http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2012/A-12-018-020.pdf, which recommends improved transmission of real-time lightning data to both controllers and pilots.
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
What happened, in order
- Windshear or thunderstorm during enroute (climb to cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Convective weather › Thunderstorm › Decision related to condition
- factor Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Convective weather › Thunderstorm › Awareness of condition
- factor Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › ATC personnel
- factor Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › ATC personnel
- factor Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Flight crew
The aircraft
- Seats: 55
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Eagle Airlines INC
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Fort Worth TX at 1:16 am
- Destination: MSN Madison WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | |||
| Flig | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 50 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number OPS12IA303.