Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254

Accident
Date	April 9, 1990
Summary	Mid-air collision
Site	Gadsden, Alabama, United States 33°58′37.57″N 86°5′41.55″W / 33.9771028°N 86.0948750°W / 33.9771028; -86.0948750
Total fatalities	2
Total survivors	7
First aircraft
N217AS, the EMB-120 involved in the collision, in March 1989.
Type	Embraer 120RT Brasilia
Operator	Atlantic Southeast Airlines
IATA flight No.	EV2254
ICAO flight No.	ASQ2254
Call sign	ACEY 2254
Registration	N217AS
Flight origin	Northwest Alabama Regional Airport; Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Stopover	Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; Gadsden, Alabama
Destination	Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; Atlanta, Georgia
Occupants	7
Passengers	4
Crew	3
Fatalities	0
Survivors	7
Second aircraft
N429CP, the aircraft similar to the one involved
Type	Cessna 172
Operator	Civil Air Patrol
Registration	N99501
Flight origin	Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; Gadsden, Alabama
Destination	Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; Gadsden, Alabama
Occupants	2
Passengers	1
Crew	1
Fatalities	2
Survivors	0

On April 9, 1990, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254, an airplane flying from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, hit another airplane, a Cessna 172, in the sky. The Cessna crashed killing both people onboard the airplane but the Embraer 120 returned and landed at the airport, saving all seven people onboard the Embraer.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254 took-off from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, for Atlanta with a planned stopover at Northeast Alabama Regional Airport in Gadsden, Alabama. The flight from Muscle Shoals to Gadsden was completed.^[6]

Flight 2254 took-off from Gadsden from Runway 24. The aircraft turned left to Atlanta and started climbing to 5,000 feet. The Cessna 172 was heading west at the same altitude, with the setting sun on the Cessna's pilots eyes. The two aircraft hit each other in the sky at around 6:05 p.m. Central Daylight Time.^[3]: 1

Because of hitting each other, Flight 2254's right horizontal stabilizer broke off from the aircraft. Flight 2254 returned to the airport, saving all seven people with no injuries. The Cessna 172 crashed in a field, killing both people. The ASA crew said that they saw the Cessna seconds before the two planes hit each other, and that the captain tried to stay away from the Cessna but failed. A person who watched the two planes hit each other said they did not see either of them trying to move away from each other before it happened.^{[3]: 1 [7]}

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that the planes hit each other in the sky maybe because both crew on both aircraft did not look out for other planes in the sky. The setting sun was on the Cessna's pilots eyes which limited vision.^[3]: 1