NTSB Advisory
National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
September 11, 2009

NTSB TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON CRASH OF CARGO FLIGHT IN LUBBOCK, TEXAS

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public hearing on September 22-23, 2009, as part of its ongoing investigation into the January 27, 2009, on-airport crash of Empire Airlines flight 8284, an ATR-42-320 operated as a domestic cargo flight for Federal Express.

The aircraft landed at night at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport about 300 feet short of the runway in freezing drizzle conditions. The captain was seriously injured, the first officer sustained minor injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged by the hard landing and a post-crash fire.   The hearing, which will be called to order at 9:30 a.m., will be held at the NTSB's Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the hearing will be to gather additional factual information for the investigation. It will be chaired by NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman who, along with Safety Board investigators, will hear from those the Board calls to testify on the following issues:

• Crew resource management, decision-making and actions leading up to and during the accident sequence
• The airline’s training program, policies and procedures for flight in icing conditions
• The Federal Aviation Administration's guidance for flight in icing conditions, flight-following procedures, and identification and recognition of icing conditions
• Avionics systems and aircraft design modifications to monitor and mitigate effects of icing on aircraft performance

A preliminary agenda, including a list of the individuals scheduled to testify, will be released on Thursday, September 17. 

The public accident docket will be opened at 9:00 am on September 22, the first day of the hearing. The information being released is factual in nature and does not provide any analysis. It will include investigative group factual reports, the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, and other documents from the investigation.  All of these materials will be made available on the Safety Board’s website at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Info/foia_fri-dockets.htm.

Additional material will be added to the docket as it becomes available. Analysis of the accident, along with conclusions and a determination of probable cause, will come at a later date when the final report on the investigation is completed.

RELATED MATERIAL:
Media advisory announcing launch of team of investigators to accident site: http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2009/090128.html

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Media Contact: Peter Knudson
(202) 314-6100
peter.knudson@ntsb.gov

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