Comair Flight 3272
Aircraft debris at the crash site | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 9, 1997 |
| Summary | Atmospheric icing leading to loss of control |
| Site | |
| Aircraft | |
| A Comair Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia, similar to the one involved in the accident | |
| Aircraft type | Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia |
| Operator | Comair on behalf of Delta Connection |
| IATA flight No. | OH3272 |
| ICAO flight No. | COM3272 |
| Call sign | COMAIR 3272 |
| Registration | N265CA |
| Flight origin | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport |
| Destination | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport |
| Occupants | 29 |
| Passengers | 26 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 29 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Comair Flight 3272 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Comair from Cincinnati International Airport in Kentucky to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan. On January 9, 1997, at 15:54 EST, while on approach for landing, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft crashed nose-down 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, killing all 29 people on board.
The cause of the crash was determined to be inadequate and out-of-date flight crew procedures for icing conditions. Some of these originated with the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to specify suitable minimum airspeeds for icing conditions, while some were Comair procedure manual defects, including superseded instructions on the use of de-icing boots that did not follow the aircraft manufacturer's instructions.