Accident - Sept. 11, 2009 - Unknown, None
The flight, operated by Commutair Aka Champlain Enterprises, Inc., was scheduled to depart from N/A en route to N/A.
| Fatalities | 0 |
|---|---|
| Serious injuries | 0 |
| Minor injuries | 0 |
Factual Narrative
On an unknown date and at an unknown time, a Bombardier DHC-8-200, N367PH, was substantially damaged when the bottom of the tail section was damaged due to unknown reasons. The damage was found during a maintenance C-check inspection on August 29, 2009. The airplane was operated by Champlain Enterprises, Inc. d.b.a. CommutAir
Airlines a Continental Airlines connection carrier under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121.
The skin, rivets, and the center former of the bulkhead was damaged. The damaged section was located between stations 545.00 and 600.00 with the concentrated damage located between stations 565.50 and 580.50 along the longitudinal axis and between stations 31 right hand and 31 left hand along the lateral axis on the fuselage. The damage was consistent with tail strike damage and had resulted in a puncture of the pressure vessel of the airplane. The damage was found when maintenance personnel were inspecting the inside of the tail section and noticed bowing and bending in the support structure and damage to nearby rivets. Further inspection of the exterior of the airplane revealed the skin damage.
The multi-engine turboprop airplane was issued a transport category airworthiness certificate on December 2, 1998. According to airline maintenance records the airframe had accumulated 23,846.5 total hours of time in service and 33,868 total airframe cycles at the time of the maintenance inspection.
The airline had interviewed four sets of flight crewmembers that flew the airplane two days prior to its maintenance inspection and none of the crewmembers reported to airline personnel any tail strike events. Nor had there been any reported towing events reported to the airline from ground support personnel.
The airline had removed the damaged parts, flight data recorder, and cockpit voice recorder for further investigation. The flight data recorder was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's recorders laboratory for analysis.
