Emery Worldwide Flight 17
Emery Worldwide Flight 17, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 cargo jet, pitched up uncontrollably as it took off from Sacramento Mather Airport on 16 February 2000 because a bolt had come out of the right elevator control tab. The crew fought for about two minutes to fly back to the airport but crashed into an automobile salvage yard in Rancho Cordova, and all three crew members died.
The sequence of events
All times local
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18:15approximately
An uneventful arrival
The DC-8 landed at Mather from Reno. Flight data later showed a small change in the elevator's response beginning about 8 minutes before this landing, consistent with the right control tab disconnecting in flight.
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19:49
Rotation goes wrong
On the takeoff roll from runway 22L the nose began to rise before the "rotate" call and kept rising after liftoff, even with the control column pushed forward. The captain warned "watch the tail" and the first officer said they were going back.
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19:49:36
Emergency declared
The captain told Sacramento approach the flight had an emergency. The jet climbed, sank to about 600 ft above sea level with the ground proximity warning sounding, then climbed again in a steep left bank.
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19:50:04
"Extreme c.g. problem."
Believing the cargo had shifted, the captain reported a centre of gravity problem. Both pilots were pushing on the controls, with full nose-down trim.
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19:50:37
Flying pitch with bank
The first officer explained he was using bank angle to make the aircraft's pitch match the jammed elevator, and that they would have to land in a turn. They turned back towards the darkened airport.
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19:51:08
Impact
The DC-8 struck an automobile salvage yard about a mile east of the runway, left wing low. All three crew members were killed.
Key facts
| Aircraft | ATR 72, Douglas DC-8 |
|---|---|
| Aircraft variant | DC-8-71F, registration N8079U |
| Flight number | 17 |
| People who died | 3 |
| People on board | 3 |
| Were there survivors? | No |
| Phase of flight | Takeoff |
Official finding · National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
a loss of pitch control resulting from the disconnection of the right elevator control tab, caused by the failure to properly secure and inspect the attachment bolt.
Questions and answers
What caused Emery Worldwide Flight 17 to crash?
The bolt connecting the right elevator control tab pushrod had not been properly secured. It came out in flight, and on the next takeoff the loose pushrod jammed the elevator in a nose-up position, so the pilots could not control the aircraft's pitch.
Did shifting cargo cause the crash?
No. The captain suspected a cargo shift, but the load was within centre of gravity limits, the cargo restraints showed no damage consistent with a shift, and the flight data looked nothing like the Fine Air Flight 101 cargo-shift accident.
When was the maintenance error made?
The NTSB could not establish it exactly. The elevators had been removed and refitted during a heavy D inspection by Tennessee Technical Services, finished on 17 November 1999, and on 25 November Emery mechanics in Dayton swapped the elevator dampers, which had been installed the wrong way round.
How many people died?
The three crew, the captain, first officer and flight engineer, were the only people on board, and all were killed. No one on the ground was killed.
What happened to Emery Worldwide after the crash?
The NTSB criticised its maintenance and the FAA's oversight. The FAA grounded the airline, and it stopped flying before the final report was published in 2003.
Sources: The facts and written text on this page come from the 1 video on this page, by Mayday: Air Disaster.
