Recent from talks
American Eagle Flight 4184
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
American Eagle Flight 4184
American Eagle Flight 4184, officially operating as Simmons Airlines Flight 4184, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois, United States. On October 31, 1994, the ATR 72 performing this route flew into severe icing conditions, lost control and crashed into a field, killing all 68 people on board in the high-speed impact.
The aircraft involved, registration N401AM, was built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 turboprops. It made its first flight on March 7, 1994, and was delivered to American Eagle on March 24, 1994. It was operated by Simmons Airlines on behalf of American Eagle. American Eagle was the banner carrier regional airline branding program of AMR Corporation's regional system, prior to the formation of the fully certificated carrier named American Eagle Airlines.
The captain of Flight 4184 was Orlando Aguilar, 29 years old. He was an experienced pilot with almost 8,500 hours of flight time, including 1,548 hours in the ATR. Colleagues described Aguilar's flying skills in positive terms and commented on the relaxed cockpit atmosphere that he promoted. The first officer was Jeffrey Gagliano, 30 years old. His colleagues also considered him to be a competent pilot, and he had accumulated more than 5,300 flight hours, including 3,657 hours in the ATR. There were two flight attendants, one of whom was on her first day in the job.
National Weather Service reports revealed low cloud ceilings and visibility under three miles (five kilometers) in the area. The air temperature was approximately 45 °F (7 °C) at the accident site but 0 °F (−18 °C) at 18,000 feet (5,500 m), with precipitation in the air.
The weather conditions provided by Lowell Airport, located about 12 nautical miles (14 mi; 22 km) northwest of the accident site, indicated broken clouds at 1,400 feet (430 m) and an overcast sky at 3,000 feet (910 m) with gusty winds from the southwest at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h; 10 m/s) and light drizzle. However, the report observation was made about 30 minutes after the accident.
The flight was en route from Indianapolis International Airport, Indiana to O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois. Flight 4184 was scheduled to depart the gate in IND at 14:10 and arrive in ORD at 15:15; however, due to deteriorating weather conditions at ORD, the flight left the gate at 14:14 and was held on the ground for 42 minutes before receiving an IFR clearance to ORD. The controller did not specify to the crew the reason for the hold.
The flight crew engaged the autopilot as the airplane climbed through 1,800 feet (549 m). At 15:05:14, the captain made initial radio contact with the DANVILLE Sector (DNV) Radar Controller and reported that they were at 10,700 feet (3,261 m) and climbing to 14,000 feet (4,267 m). The DNV controller issued a clearance to the crew to proceed directly to the Chicago Heights VOR. At 15:08:33, the captain of flight 4184 requested and received a clearance to continue the climb to the final en route altitude of 16,000 feet (4,877 m).
At 15:09:22, the pilot of a Beech Baron, N7983B, provided a pilot report (PIREP) to the DNV controller that there was "light icing" at 12,000 feet (3,658 m) over Lafayette, and, 22 seconds later, added that the icing was "trace rime...." According to the DNV controller, because the crew of flight 4184 was on the frequency and had established radio contact, the PIREP was not repeated.
Hub AI
American Eagle Flight 4184 AI simulator
(@American Eagle Flight 4184_simulator)
American Eagle Flight 4184
American Eagle Flight 4184, officially operating as Simmons Airlines Flight 4184, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois, United States. On October 31, 1994, the ATR 72 performing this route flew into severe icing conditions, lost control and crashed into a field, killing all 68 people on board in the high-speed impact.
The aircraft involved, registration N401AM, was built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 turboprops. It made its first flight on March 7, 1994, and was delivered to American Eagle on March 24, 1994. It was operated by Simmons Airlines on behalf of American Eagle. American Eagle was the banner carrier regional airline branding program of AMR Corporation's regional system, prior to the formation of the fully certificated carrier named American Eagle Airlines.
The captain of Flight 4184 was Orlando Aguilar, 29 years old. He was an experienced pilot with almost 8,500 hours of flight time, including 1,548 hours in the ATR. Colleagues described Aguilar's flying skills in positive terms and commented on the relaxed cockpit atmosphere that he promoted. The first officer was Jeffrey Gagliano, 30 years old. His colleagues also considered him to be a competent pilot, and he had accumulated more than 5,300 flight hours, including 3,657 hours in the ATR. There were two flight attendants, one of whom was on her first day in the job.
National Weather Service reports revealed low cloud ceilings and visibility under three miles (five kilometers) in the area. The air temperature was approximately 45 °F (7 °C) at the accident site but 0 °F (−18 °C) at 18,000 feet (5,500 m), with precipitation in the air.
The weather conditions provided by Lowell Airport, located about 12 nautical miles (14 mi; 22 km) northwest of the accident site, indicated broken clouds at 1,400 feet (430 m) and an overcast sky at 3,000 feet (910 m) with gusty winds from the southwest at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h; 10 m/s) and light drizzle. However, the report observation was made about 30 minutes after the accident.
The flight was en route from Indianapolis International Airport, Indiana to O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois. Flight 4184 was scheduled to depart the gate in IND at 14:10 and arrive in ORD at 15:15; however, due to deteriorating weather conditions at ORD, the flight left the gate at 14:14 and was held on the ground for 42 minutes before receiving an IFR clearance to ORD. The controller did not specify to the crew the reason for the hold.
The flight crew engaged the autopilot as the airplane climbed through 1,800 feet (549 m). At 15:05:14, the captain made initial radio contact with the DANVILLE Sector (DNV) Radar Controller and reported that they were at 10,700 feet (3,261 m) and climbing to 14,000 feet (4,267 m). The DNV controller issued a clearance to the crew to proceed directly to the Chicago Heights VOR. At 15:08:33, the captain of flight 4184 requested and received a clearance to continue the climb to the final en route altitude of 16,000 feet (4,877 m).
At 15:09:22, the pilot of a Beech Baron, N7983B, provided a pilot report (PIREP) to the DNV controller that there was "light icing" at 12,000 feet (3,658 m) over Lafayette, and, 22 seconds later, added that the icing was "trace rime...." According to the DNV controller, because the crew of flight 4184 was on the frequency and had established radio contact, the PIREP was not repeated.
Recent media