Eastwind Airlines - Incident

Incident

On June 9, 1996 Eastwind Airlines Flight 517, a Boeing 737-200 experienced a reported loss of rudder control while on approach to Richmond from Trenton. There was one minor injury to a flight attendant and no damage to the airplane as a result of the incident. At the time of the event the airplane's airspeed was about 250 knots and at 4,000 feet MSL. On approach the crew experienced unexpected movement of the rudder causing the airplane rolling to the right. The crew applied opposite rudder to keep the plane from rolling over. Thirty-seconds later the plane righted itself back to normal flight. As the crew performed the emergency checklist the plane again rolled over to the right. Another thirty-seconds went by before the plane snapped back to level. The crew declared an emergency and landed safety in Richmond. Investigation of this incident would later help solve two other mysterious accidents: United Airlines Flight 585 and USAir Flight 427.

An Eastwind Airlines Flight (Eastwind Airlines Flight 507) described the first reports of TWA Flight 800 exploding.