A United Express Bombardier CRJ200 operated by SkyWest Airlines had to make an emergency landing in Pierre, South Dakota, earlier this week due to an engine failure. The 50-seat regional jet was headed to Denver when the pilots decided to cut the flight short and reroute to Pierre.
Upon landing, the airline investigated the incident. After a more than five-hours delay, United Airlines sent a replacement aircraft allowing the passengers to eventually get to Denver.
Details of the incident
The aircraft, N909EV, was operating as SkyWest Airlines flight 4741 from Hector International Airport in Fargo, North Dakota, to Denver International Airport on Wednesday, April 12th. The jet departed from the gate 11 minutes early at 16:54 and took off at 17:12, according to data from FlightAware. With a northbound departure, the aircraft turned west and back southwest toward Denver, reaching an altitude of 32,000 feet.
Nearly 45 minutes into the flight, the plane was about 20 nautical miles southeast of Pierre. At that time, the crew decided to divert to Pierre and reported a failure of one of the aircraft’s CF34 engines, according to The Aviation Herald.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The jet then descended and turned directly south to circle back to Pierre. At 8,100 feet, the aircraft headed back east into a brief holding pattern before being lined up for its final approach on runway 31 at Pierre Regional Airport.
According to Sioux City, Iowa affiliate KCAU, a call was made to the police about the emergency landing at 18:00. The plane landed safely at 18:15 with 48 passengers onboard. The passengers exited the plane and waited at the terminal. No injuries were reported.
Another aircraft to the rescue
United dispatched a replacement CRJ 200 from its hub in Denver, according to The Aviation Herald. The aircraft, N930SW, departed the Mile High City at 20:20 (MDT), over three hours after N909EV arrived in Pierre. After 55 minutes of flying time and cruising at 33,000 feet, N930SW arrived in Pierre at 22:15.
Photo: Austin Deppe/Shutterstock
The passengers boarded the aircraft, and it departed at 23:18 to return to Denver. The plane climbed to 24,000 feet for its cruise and landed on runway 16L at 23:24 (MDT), almost five and a half hours after its originally scheduled arrival time. N930SW was then placed back into United’s operation the next day, flying to Salina, Kansas.
Repair and return to service
N909EV remained on the ground in Pierre for inspection and repair for around 20 hours, according to The Aviation Herald. The aircraft departed Pierre Regional Airport on Thursday to Denver as a repositioning flight. After arriving in Denver, it returned to service, flying to Dickinson, North Dakota. Since the incident, the 20-year-old CRJ200 has operated 13 flights, with six more scheduled through Monday.
For some, the aircraft’s emergency landing in Pierre may have been Déjà vu. United formerly operated the aircraft type with daily flights to Denver but suspended service last year.
Currently, the only passenger airline to operate regularly scheduled flights to Pierre is Denver Air Connection, which began service to Denver in 2021 with the Embraer ERJ-145 regional aircraft.
Source: The Aviation Herald, FlightAware (1), (2), KCAU
