When Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 suffered a catastrophic propeller failure on August 21, 1995, lone Flight Attendant Robin Fech suddenly found herself responsible for preparing 26 passengers for disaster. What followed was an extraordinary display of courage, professionalism, and determination that earned her formal commendation from the NTSB and cemented her place as a true aviation hero.

Operated by an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (N256AS), the roughly 90-minute flight was a scheduled service from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport to Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport, with 26 passengers and three crew members onboard.

On the flight deck was Captain Edwin (Ed) Gannaway, assisted by First Officer Matthew Warmerdam. The pair were joined by Flight Attendant Robin Fech, who had joined the company in February 1993.

Boarding commenced just before midday, and the aircraft took to the skies at 1223 local time.

Disaster Strikes

All seemed normal as the plane climbed to its cruising altitude. Fech had just started the inflight service and was handing a passenger a drink when a loud bang and thud sounded from outside. FO Warmerdam later described the sound as like “a baseball bat striking an aluminium trash can.”

The aircraft began to shudder and shake violently. Fech was unaware of what had happened, but immediately began to stow away any loose items in the galley and took her crew seat to await further instructions.

As she waited, she could see that a number of her passengers were terrified. Despite her own fears and still having no real clue as to what was going on, Fech began to calm and reassure those who were upset.

A blade on the left propeller had fractured and separated. The resulting imbalance displaced the propeller reduction gearbox assembly and severely distorted the engine nacelle. That deformation created enormous aerodynamic drag and adversely affected lift and directional control, leaving the pilots unable to arrest the descent.

The NTSB eventually determined that the blade fractured due to a fatigue crack originating from corrosion pits. Investigators criticised deficiencies in Hamilton Standard’s inspection and repair procedures and identified inadequate recurrent ultrasonic inspection requirements as a contributing factor.

The flight crew’s first instinct was to return to Atlanta. Like all aircraft, the EMB 120 was designed to fly on one engine. However, the wing distortion and drag created by the dangling engine meant the Brasilia began to rapidly lose altitude. Therefore, the crew decided to divert to nearby West Georgia Regional Airport.

“Brief the passengers.”

Eventually, FO Warmerdam informed Fech that they would be making an emergency landing and told her to “brief the passengers.” As the plane continued its uncontrolled descent, Fech used the PA to talk to her passengers. She told them they had an engine problem, which most of them already knew by looking out the window, and that they would be returning to Atlanta. She reassured everyone that the plane could fly on one engine, but they would need to prepare for an emergency landing ‘just in case.’

She began to demonstrate the brace position to her passengers, ensuring each one understood by making them show her. “You’ll have to prove this to me,” she repeated as she walked up and down the cabin. She checked that everyone’s seatbelts were tight and low, then began to brief people on the location and operation of the emergency exits.

It was then time to brief her able-bodied passengers (ABP’s), telling them how to open and operate the exits, what she would be doing during and after the emergency landing and how they could help her. She also assessed passengers sitting beside exits and actually moved a male passenger into an exit-row seat after another passenger said she did not feel capable of operating the exit.

When she had finished, she started the whole process over again. Fech used every second she had to ensure her passengers were as prepared as possible for whatever lay ahead.

Nowhere To Go

Up front, the pilots realised they were not going to make it to a runway and began frantically searching for a place to make an emergency landing. They spotted a large open field in Carroll County, Georgia and pointed the plane’s nose in its direction.

As Fech continued preparing the cabin, there was no further word from the flight deck. She had not been told that the pilots could no longer reach Atlanta, nor that Flight 529 was about to make an off-airport landing. Only when she looked through a window and saw treetops rushing past did she realise how little time remained. She hurried back to her jumpseat, shouting for passengers to brace, and had barely secured herself when the Brasilia hit the trees.

Less than 10 minutes after the uncontrolled engine failure at 1252hrs, the Brasilia pitched over and headed towards the ground, striking trees for around 360ft before hitting the ground nose first in an open field. The left wing was ripped off while the fuselage continued to slide across the field for nearly 500ft. It then hit a mound, becoming airborne again and spinning out of control.

An instant later, I felt the plane’s left wing touch the ground and snap off. A woman screamed from the front of the cabin. The second time the plane touched, it landed with a jolt. For a moment the only sound I heard was the tearing of metal, the impact and the drag wrenching the plane as we slid along the ground. The aircraft rolled to an abrupt stop, with the left side facing up.

– A passenger later describing the impact.

Life Saver

Fech had been knocked unconscious by the impact and awoke to find herself completely flipped round in her jump seat, engulfed in smoke and surrounded by flames.

She was seriously injured with second-degree burns to her ankles and legs, a broken arm and cuts. Unable to see anything through the thick smoke, she heard her passengers screaming for help. Her training kicked in again as she struggled to free herself and leave the burning aircraft.

Outside, Fech found a scene of devastation. Several survivors had suffered severe burns, and some had been forced to pass through flames to escape the shattered fuselage.

The post-crash fire meant many had to jump through the flames to escape the wreckage. One later described the horrific scenes:

“When I turned again toward the opening, I saw three or four people between me and the outside – all standing motionless. Then I saw why. The massive crack in the fuselage had become immersed in fire and smoke, and we couldn’t see past the furious flames. “God, there must be another way out!” wailed the thoughts inside my foggy head. I spun around to the rear of the broken plane and saw that everyone behind me was facing forward. I knew if another life-saving exit was accessible, people would be using it. As I turned back to the opening, we all shouted in unison: “You have to do it! You have to go through the fire! Go, go, go!” Knowing we had no other option, everyone began to leap through the fire, until it was my turn. I leapt through the fire too, but I don’t remember it. All I remember is hitting the ground outside the plane and somersaulting to my feet.”

– One survivor, quoted in Gary M. Pomerantz’s Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds The Tragedy & Triumph of ASA Flight 529

A True Heroine

Fech began screaming for everyone to get as far away from the plane as possible as she cradled her broken arm. She began to rip off what was left of her tattered uniform to try and put out those who were still on fire, smothering flames on one passenger with her uniform vest. The Association of Flight Attendants would later cite Flight 529 when discussing protective and readily identifiable cabin-crew uniforms.

After administering first aid to the worst injured, she turned her attention to the cockpit and her colleagues. Captain Gannaway had been knocked unconscious by the impact. He remained trapped in the cockpit and did not survive the accident. However, First Officer Warmerdam was still alive and desperately trying to escape from the wreckage. With the help of another passenger whom she directed, they tried to pull Warmerdam free, but to no avail. Firefighters subsequently entered the aircraft through the cabin, broke through the cockpit door and rescued him.

Fech played a major part in saving the lives of 17 of her passengers and her First Officer. Passengers later spoke of her incredible skills and bravery that fateful day. Byron Gaskill said: “I can’t imagine anybody being more calm and purposeful in doing her job.” And US Air Force Major Chuck LeMay said: “Because of her, folks inside the cabin remained calm. No one was screaming before the impact… We did not panic. Robin behaved like a drill sergeant.”

Four days after the disaster, Fech returned to the crash scene. With her arm in a sling and using crutches to walk, she toured the site accompanied by her mother, airline officials and the Carroll County Sheriff Jack Bell, who also added his praise: “That lady did a lot out there. She’s one of the reasons a lot of those people lived.”

The accident ultimately claimed nine lives: Captain Ed Gannaway and eight passengers. The NTSB officially records eight fatalities because one passenger died from her injuries four monthe 30 dayse the 30 days used for official accident statistics.

More than three decades later, the story of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 remains a powerful reminder of what cabin crew are truly trained to do. Faced with an unfolding emergency, little information from the flight deck and ultimately a burning wreckage, Robin Fech put her passengers first at every stage. Her composure before impact and courage in the moments that followed undoubtedly helped others survive one of the darkest days in ASA’s history. The NTSB would later formally commend the “exemplary manner” in which she carried out her duties. For those of us who wear, or have worn, the wings, Robin’s actions embody exactly what being cabin crew is really about – and that is why, 31 years on, she remains a true Aviation Hero.

Sources: Information for this article was drawn from the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, including the final accident report and associated survival-factors documentation; contemporary news reports published in the aftermath of the accident; and Gary M. Pomerantz’s book Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds: The Tragedy & Triumph of ASA Flight 529, which includes detailed accounts from those involved in the crash and its aftermath.

© Confessions of a Trolley Dolly