Flagship Airlines Flight 3379

Flagship Airlines Flight 3379
	A Flagship Airlines Jetstream 32, similar to the one involved.
Accident
Date	December 13, 1994
Summary	Pilot error; loss of control
Site	Morrisville, near Raleigh–Durham International Airport, North Carolina, United States of America ; 35°50′05″N 78°52′01″W / 35.834722°N 78.866944°W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Jetstream 32
Operator	Flagship Airlines dba American Eagle
Call sign	EAGLE FLIGHT 379
Registration	N918AE
Flight origin	Piedmont Triad International Airport
Destination	Raleigh–Durham International Airport
Occupants	20
Passengers	18
Crew	2
Fatalities	15
Injuries	5
Survivors	5

Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 was a scheduled flight under the American Eagle branding from Piedmont Triad International Airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport during which a British Aerospace Jetstream crashed while executing a missed approach to the Raleigh–Durham International Airport on the evening of Tuesday, December 13, 1994. The two pilots and 13 passengers died in the crash; five passengers survived with serious injuries.^[1]^[3]

The flight route from Greensboro to Raleigh is about 70 miles (110 km). Observers at the crash scene said it was foggy and sleeting. The airport reported a temperature of 37 °F (3 °C) with steady drizzle.^[3]

Aircraft and crew[edit]

The crew for Flight 3379 were Captain Michael Hillis, 29, and First Officer Matthew Sailor, 25.^[4]

The aircraft was manufactured in 1991 and had logged 6,577 flying hours.^[5]

Investigation[edit]

On October 24, 1995, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released their report on the crash. The crash was blamed on Captain Hillis incorrectly assuming that an engine had failed. Hillis also failed to follow approved procedures for engine failure single-engine approach, go-around, and stall recovery. Flagship Airlines management was blamed for failing to identify, document, monitor, and remedy deficiencies in pilot performance and training.^[2]^[6]

Memorial[edit]

In May 2016, a memorial was dedicated at Carpenter Park in Cary, NC, USA to the passengers, crew, families, and responders of both Flight 3379 and AVAir Flight 3378, which crashed near the RDU Airport while dba American Eagle in 1988.^[7]

In popular culture[edit]

The crash was featured on season 22 of the Canadian documentary series Mayday, in the episode titled "Turboprop Terror".^[8]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Ranter, Harro. "Accident Description". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Uncontrolled collision with terrain, Flagship Airlines, Inc., dba American Eagle Flight 3379, BAe Jetstream 3201, N918AE, Morrisville, North Carolina, December 13, 1994" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. October 24, 1995. NTSB/AAR-95/07. Retrieved December 16, 2019 – via Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
^ ^a ^b Jackson, Robert L. (December 14, 1994). "American Eagle Plane Crashes in N.C.; 15 Killed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
^ "Engine Failed Before Crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
^ "NTSB". ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. May 10, 1995. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
^ "NTSB Identification: DCA95MA006". ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. June 22, 1996. DCA95MA006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
^ "Cary memorial names fallen from pair of Triangle plane crashes". WRAL-TV. May 14, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
^ Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 at IMDb

[ASN-1] Ranter, Harro. "Accident Description". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved May 15, 2014.

[ntsb_final-2] "Uncontrolled collision with terrain, Flagship Airlines, Inc., dba American Eagle Flight 3379, BAe Jetstream 3201, N918AE, Morrisville, North Carolina, December 13, 1994" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. October 24, 1995. NTSB/AAR-95/07. Retrieved December 16, 2019 – via Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

[latimes-3] Jackson, Robert L. (December 14, 1994). "American Eagle Plane Crashes in N.C.; 15 Killed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2016.

[latimes2-4] "Engine Failed Before Crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2014.

[ntsb1-5] "NTSB". ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. May 10, 1995. Retrieved December 15, 2015.

[ntsb2-6] "NTSB Identification: DCA95MA006". ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. June 22, 1996. DCA95MA006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.

[7] "Cary memorial names fallen from pair of Triangle plane crashes". WRAL-TV. May 14, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2023.

[8] Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 at IMDb

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1990s
1990	Northwest Airlines Flight 5 Avianca Flight 052 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254 Death of Stevie Ray Vaughan Wayne County Airport runway collision
1991	Los Angeles runway disaster Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 United Airlines Flight 585 Merion air disaster Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 L'Express Airlines Flight 508 Continental Express Flight 2574 Vallejo helicopter crash
1992	CommutAir Flight 4821 Air Transport International Flight 805 USAir Flight 405 American Eagle Flight 5456 GP Express Airlines Flight 861 TWA Flight 843
1993	Lufthansa Flight 592 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46E Alan Kulwicki plane crash China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 American Airlines Flight 102 American International Airways Flight 808 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719
1994	United Express Flight 6291 Green Ramp disaster Federal Express Flight 705 Fairchild Air Force Base B-52 crash USAir Flight 1016 USAir Flight 427 American Eagle Flight 4184 TWA Flight 427 Flagship Airlines Flight 3379
1995	Air Transport International Flight 782 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident American Airlines Flight 1572 Tower Air Flight 41
1996	ValuJet Flight 592 Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 TWA Flight 800 FedEx Express Flight 1406 Quincy Airport disaster Airborne Express Flight 827 New Hampshire Learjet crash
1997	Comair Flight 3272 FedEx Express Flight 14 Korean Air Flight 801 Fine Air Flight 101 John Denver
1998	United Airlines Flight 863
1999	American Airlines Flight 1420 Martha's Vineyard plane crash South Dakota Learjet crash
This list is incomplete.