USAir Flight 405 Crash

Date: March 22, 1992 • Location: East Elmhurst, United States

USAir Flight 405 crashed in Flushing Bay shortly after takeoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport, killing 27 people, and leading to studies into the effects of ice on aircraft.

USAir Flight 405 was a regularly scheduled American domestic passenger flight between LaGuardia Airport in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio. On March 22, 1992, the Fokker F28 Fellowship operating the flight crashed in poor weather in a partially inverted position in Flushing Bay, shortly after liftoff from LaGuardia. The undercarriage lifted off from the runway, but the airplane failed to gain lift, flying only several meters above the ground. The aircraft then veered off the runway and hit several obstructions before coming to rest in Flushing Bay, just beyond the end of the runway. Of the 51 people on board, 27 were killed, including the captain and a member of the cabin crew.