Embraer ERJ 145 Family - Notable Accidents

Notable Accidents

The ERJ 145 family of aircraft has no reported crashes or fatalities due to mechanical malfunction in over 15 million hours (as of June 2009) of flight time for the fleet.

• On February 11, 1998 a Continental Express, now United Express, ERJ 145ER tail number N14931 crashed in Beaumont, Texas on takeoff during a training flight. NTSB reports that after the incorrect application of rudder during a V1 cut maneuver, the left wing stalled. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

• On December 28, 1998, a Rio-Sul pilot descended beyond the normal rates and landed at a speed significantly higher than the normal landing speed. The aircraft tail section cracked and was dragged along the runway. The airplane involved was PT-SPE, an ERJ 145ER and this happened at Afonso Pena Airport, in Curitiba, Brazil. The airplane was damaged beyond economical repair.

• On September 29, 2006, an ExcelAire Embraer Legacy EMB 135BJ, Civil Registration N600XL, collided with Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, a Boeing 737-800, while flying over the northern state of Mato Grosso en route to Manaus from São José dos Campos. The Legacy made an emergency landing at a military airstrip at Cachimbo, Pará, Brazil, with minor damages and with its 5 passengers and 2 crew members uninjured. The Gol 737 crashed in the Amazon forest east of Peixoto de Azevedo, killing all 148 passengers and 6 crew members.

• On 7 December 2009, an Embraer ERJ 135 operated by South African Airlink (registration:ZS-SJW) on a scheduled flight SA-8625 from Cape Town, overshot the runway when trying to land in wet weather at George Airport; no fatalities were reported. It was determined that the aircraft touched down in the area of the fourth landing marker. According to the air traffic controller (ATC) on duty at the time, the landing appeared normal, however the aircraft did not vacate the runway but instead veered to the right and went past the ILS localizer. The aircraft collided with eleven approach lights before it burst through the aerodrome perimeter fence coming to rest in a nose-down attitude on a public road. The preliminary investigation showed the tyres did display some evidence of aquaplaning. The plane was damaged beyond economical repair.

• On August 25, 2010, an ERJ 145 operated by Passaredo, crashed on approach to Vitória da Conquista. The plane landed short of the runway and the crew lost control, resulting in the aircraft sustaining severe damage before coming to a stop away from the runway. Two of the 27 people on board were injured. The airline said the plane was unable to lower landing gear, although observers said the landing gear was lowered while the aircraft was landing.

• On September 4, 2011, a United Express Embraer 145 slid off the runway upon landing at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International in Ottawa, Canada. All 44 passengers aboard were uninjured. The plane sustained substantial damage to its gear and wing on the righthand side. The plane was damaged beyond economic repair.