Minneapolis - Hibbing

On January 2, 1993 at 07:42 PM, Minneapolis - Hibbing experienced a crash involving Saab 340, operated by Express Airlines, with the event recorded near Hibbing-Range (Chisholm) Minnesota.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

31 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 31 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 28, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. During the approach, the 1st officer (FO) asked the captain if he wanted to '...pop the boots?' to remove ice off the wings. The capt responded '...it's going to the hangar. I'll run'em on the ground...' The FO retarded power over the threshold and the sink rate increased; the capt observed 900 fpm. The FO applied additional back pressure on the yoke, but it was inadequate to arrest the high sink rate. Additional back pressure was applied, and the stall horn sounded followed shortly thereafter by the captain stating 'I got it.' During the hard landing the right main landing gear broke, the fuel tank ruptured, and the right wing rear spar bent upward. Aprx 18 hrs after the accident, 3/16 inch of rime mixed with clear ice was observed on the leading edges of the wing, horizontal stab, and vertical stab. The ice had finger-like protrusions positioned vertically to the wing surfaces. The company's line ops manual does not discuss flight characteristics or landing techniques specific to wing ice. Neither pilot had received company's current crm training.

Aircraft reference details include registration N342PX, MSN 147, year of manufacture 1989.