This day in history: 26 passengers, 3 crew members killed in plane crash near Monroe, Michigan in 1997
(CBS DETROIT) - On Jan. 9, 1997, 29 people were killed after a Comair Airlines, Inc. plane crashed near Monroe, Michigan.
Flight 3272, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, departed from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport at about 3:08 p.m. local time and was headed to Detroit Metro Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
There were 26 passengers on board, along with two flight crew members and one flight attendant.
As the plane approached Detroit Metro Airport to land, there were issues with procedures for ice conditions, and the plane struck the ground nose-down in Monroe County's Raisinville Township.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that ice on the wings and low airspeed with flaps retracted led to a loss of control after the autopilot disengaged.
In addition, the NTSB determined the following issues were factors in the crash: inadequate certification standards for icing conditions, the FAA's failure to ensure an approved protocol for the airplane's deicing system was used by U.S.-based air carriers, along with the FAA's failure to establish minimum airspeeds during icing conditions.
