Pinnacle, Colgan Have Had 10 Crashes Since 2001, NTSB Data Show

eb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Pinnacle Airlines Corp. crash in upstate New York was at least the 10th for the regional carrier and its Colgan Air unit since 2001, government data show. It was the third accident with fatalities.

Colgan was operating Flight 3407 for Continental Airlines Inc. when the Bombardier Inc. Dash 8 Q400 turboprop fell to the ground short of the Buffalo airport late yesterday, bursting into flames and killing all 49 people on board and 1 on the ground.

Neither of the other fatal crashes since 2001 involved passengers, according to a National Transportation Safety Board database. Memphis, Tennessee-based Pinnacle, a former Northwest Airlines unit, provides commuter flights for bigger carriers.

In October 2004, both pilots on a Pinnacle regional jet were killed in Jefferson City, Missouri, after a “pilot-induced aerodynamic stall” caused both engines to flame out and not restart, according to the NTSB report on the incident.

The empty Bombardier CL-600 was being ferried from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Minneapolis as part of Pinnacle’s contract as a regional partner for Northwest. The pilots took the aircraft to 41,000 feet, restricting fuel flow to the engines, the safety board found. Thin air at that altitude robs engines of power.

“We don’t have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here,” the captain said shortly before the crash, according to the accident report.

‘Poor Airmanship’

“Unprofessional behavior” and “poor airmanship” contributed to the crash, the NTSB concluded.

In August 2003, Colgan Flight 9446 crashed in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing the two pilots who were flying an empty Beech 1900D turboprop from Albany, New York. It was the first flight after the plane’s forward elevator trim cable had been replaced and improperly installed, the NTSB found. Colgan was operating that flight for US Airways Express.

Pinnacle spokesman Joe Williams didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment today. Chief Executive Officer Philip H. Trenary told reporters in Amherst, New York, that the turboprops of the type involved in yesterday’s crash have “an outstanding safety record.”

Pinnacle tumbled 61 cents, or 26 percent, to $1.74 at 11:58 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.

The airline bought Manassas, Virginia-based Colgan in January 2007 for $20 million. Colgan at the time was flying for Continental, UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc.

Most of the other crashes since 2001 involving Pinnacle and Colgan planes were being operated for US Airways or Northwest, according to NTSB data.

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