SouthJetAir Flight 227

the plane involved upside down during the flight

### Summary

Controlled belly landing caused by jackscrew failure due to improper maintenance

## Flight

### Flight Origin

Orlando International AirportOrlando, Florida, United States

### Flight Destination

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportAtlanta, Georgia, United States

### Fatalities

4 Passengers
2 Crew Members
1 on ground

### Survivors

83

**SouthJetAir Flight 227** was a scheduled passenger flight from Orlando International Airport, Orlando, Florida to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia. On October 14th, 2011, the aircraft, registration NC1983JC, a Jackson Ridgefield JR-88, operating the flight experienced a controlled belly-landing in an open field in Clayton County, Georgia following a catastrophic loss of pitch control. The accident caused the death of 4 passengers, 2 flight attendants, and 1 on the ground.

## Background

The captain of the flight was 47-year-old William "Whip" Whitaker, who had been with SouthJetAir for twenty-six years. He had a total of 20,045 hours of flight time, including 6,320 hours in the JR-88. The first officer was 36-year-old Ken Evans who, at the time, had 9,872 hours of flight time including 3,294 hours in the JR-88.

There were three flight attendants on the flight: Camille Satou, Margaret Thomason and Katerina Marquez.

## Accident

Flight 227 took off from Orlando International Airport in heavy rain and crosswinds of 30 knots. After departure, the flight was instructed by the departure controller to turn left, maintain a heading of 170 and an altitude of 9,000 feet. Less than thirty seconds after takeoff Flight 227 encountered severe turbulence and passengers reported overhead luggage falling out. The plane exited the pack of turbulent at approximately 90 seconds after takeoff and resumed the climb; all was routine.

As the Flight 227 neared its destination, the controller at Atlanta Area Control Center instructed the flight to descend and maintain an altitude of 30,000 feet. First Officer Evans acknowledged the change in altitude with no indication that anything is amiss. Seconds after Evans's transmission the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recorded a loud "bang" followed by a report from Evans indicating a problem with the elevator. The following is a transcript from the CVR:

Captain Whitaker: *(Wakes Up From Sleep) "What is that?"*

FO Evans: *"The elevator feels really stiff sir."*

Captain Whitaker: *"Alright Margaret get everybody strapped in, get everybody strapped in tight."*

A few seconds later the flight data recorder (FDR) recorded a sudden pitch down motion and an altitude loss of approximately 30,000 feet.

FO Evans: *"it's pulling left hard sir."*

\*Screams in the cabin\*

Captain Whitaker: *"Power back, power back!"*

GPWS: "Sink rate, pull up. Sink rate, pull up. Sink rate, pull up."

FO Evans: *"No control on my side, no control at all sir!"*

Captain Whitaker: *"*[inaudible] *we've lost Hydraulics..."*

A transmission was made to Atlanta ACC stating that Flight 227 had an issue with hydraulics and pitch control.

Captain Whitaker: "Center this is Southjet 227 we've lost our hydraulics and feels like our pitch control."

Atlanta ACC: "SouthJet 227 Atlanta confirm you've lost your pitch control?"

Captain Whitaker: *"Turn on the backup pumps, the backup pumps."*

Captain Whitaker: "That is affirm we are in an uncontrolled descend."

## Trivia

* The aircraft, a Jackson Ridgefield JR-88, is based on the McDonnell Douglas MD-88, a variant of the MD-80 series. However, its real-life counterpart does not have winglets. Delta Air Lines, which SouthJetAir is based on, was the largest operator of this variant until its retirement in 2020.
	+ N937DL, a Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-88, portrays the SouthJetAir JR-88. The aircraft was retired in 2018.
* The aircraft's registration, NC1983JC, would be invalid in real life. US registrations N1 to N99999, N1A to N9999Z, and N1AA to N999ZZ are all valid.
* The accident is based on that of a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating Alaska Airlines Flight 261. The accident occurred on January 31st, 2000, 12 years before the film was released. Like Flight 227, a variant of the MD-80 series was involved.

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