The Japanese authorities have informed this Thursday, October 17 that they are investigating an accident – as it was qualified – with the ATR 42-600 of Japan Air Commuter (JAL Express), registration JA01JC, which last Saturday suffered a loss of flight control to the southwest of the country.
During the occurrence, a cabin crew member (surcharge) suffered a serious ankle injury.
At the time of the accident, the turboprop was on flight JC3763, which took off from Kagoshima at 11: 04LT (GMT + 9) in the direction of Tanegashima, located about 117 kilometers (63 nautical miles) to the south.
At a cruising altitude of 11,300 feet, the flight proceeded normally and without incident, until the moment of descent.
Flying over the East China Sea about 64 kilometers (35 nautical miles) from Tanegashima, around 11: 20LT, during the descent, at about 10,500 feet of altitude, suddenly and for reasons still unknown, the ATR 42 suffered a loss of flight control.
This resulted in a fall of about 2,200 feet, according to FlightRadar24 telemetry data.
The fall coincided, according to telemetry, with a speed reduction of 304 for 232 knots. During the accident – as it was qualified – one of the cabin crew (surcharge) suffered a serious right ankle injury, the Japan Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) reported.
The control of the aircraft was quickly recovered by the crew, which initiated a diversion to the airfield of origin, where it landed safely around 11: 45LT.
The preliminary report by the authorities indicates that the plane was ‘shaken’, but does not indicate whether this was due to strong turbulence or other circumstances.
The meteorological data of the region and the destination aerodrome at the time of the loss of control indicated good visibility, wind speed and there was no adverse condition record in the locality.
The case is still under investigation.
Source: Transponder1200
