1967 — March 9, Midair Collision, TWA Flight 553 (25), Beechcraft 55 (1), Urbana, OH–26
— 26 Airdisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 03091967.
— 26 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Trans World Air Flight 553, 9Mar1967.
— 26 Kimura. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Ed., 1946-1993, V.1. 4-11-1994, p. 2.8.
–25 Trans World Airlines 553
— 1 Beechcraft Baron B-55.
— 26 NTSB. AAR. TWA…Beechcraft…In-Flight Collision Near Urbana, Ohio, March 8, 1967.
Narrative Information
NTSB: “A Trans World Airlines, Inc., Douglas DC-9, N1063T, Flight 553, and a Tann Company Beechcraft Baron B-55, N6127V, collided at an attitude of about 4,525 feet m.s.l, approximately 25 nautical miles northeast of the Dayton Municipal Airport, Dayton, Ohio, at 1153:50 e.s.t., March 9, 1967. The pilot of the Beechcraft (only occupant) and the 21 passengers and 4 crewmembers aboard Flight 553 received fatal injuries. Both aircraft were destroyed. Flight 553 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from New York City to Chicago, Illinois, with en route stops at Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Dayton, Ohio. The Beechcraft, being utilized for a company business flight, was en route from Detroit, Michigan, to Springfield, Ohio…. The flight [NWA 553] was descending from 20,000 feet to 3,000 feet…in preparation for a landing at Dayton…. The Beechcraft was not under the control of, or in radio contact with, any FAA traffic control facility. It was, however, in radio contact with the fixed base operator at the Springfield Airport just prior to the collision. (NTSB. AAR. TWA…March 8, 1967, pp. 1-2)
“Eighteen seconds before the collision occurred, the radar controller who was controlling Flight 553 initiated a traffic advisory to that flight: ‘TWA 553, roger, traffic at twelve thirty, one mile, southbound, slow moving.’ Fourteen seconds prior to the collision the captain of Flight 553 acknowledged that transmission with ‘Roger.’ This was the last recorded radio communication with the aircraft. Recorded crew conversation on the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) tape during the last 14 seconds of the flight provided no information to indicate that the TWA crew ever saw the Beechcraft….The cockpit voice recording stopped at 1153:50.
“The Board determines the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the DC-9 crew to see and avoid the Beechcraft. Contributing to this cause were physiological and environmental conditions and the excessive speed of the DC-9 which reduced visual detection capabilities under an air traffic control system which was not designed or equipped to separate a mixture of controlled and uncontrolled traffic.” (NTSB. AAR. TWA…March 8, 1967, p. 2)
“The Beechcraft disintegrated in flight at the time of the collision. The DC-9 was destroyed by the collision, ground impact, and post impact fire.” (NTSB. AAR. TWA…March 8, 1967, p. 8)
“In view of the evidence the Board concludes that, although each aircraft was in a position to see and be seen by the other at a distance of approximately 4 miles, each of the involved aircrews failed to see and avoid the other. The DC-9 was the overtaking, converging aircraft and thus in the better position to afford the pilots an opportunity to observe and avoid the Beechcraft. Therefore, primary responsibility for avoiding traffic within its flightpath rested with the DC-9 crew.
“The lack of positive control over aircraft operations conducted in terminal areas under the present day air traffic control system is not satisfactory. Had the Beechcraft been under the control of an air traffic controller the accident could have been avoided because the controller could have arranged to sequence the two aircraft in such a manner as to avoid any converging of their flightpaths. The Board is aware, however, that present day air traffic control facilities are not adequate to handle the workload which would be created by requiring positive control of all aircraft operating in terminal areas.” (NTSB. AAR. TWA…March 8, 1967, p. 36)
Sources
AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. “Accident Synopsis 03091967.” Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=03091967®=N1063T&airline=Trans+World+Airlines
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Trans World Air Flight 553, 09 Mar 1967. Accessed 3/1/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19670309-0
Kimura, Chris Y. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Edition, 1946-1993, Volume 1: Jet and Turboprop Aircrafts. Livermore, CA: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Risk Assessment and Nuclear Engineering Group. 4-11-1994.
National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Trans World Airlines, Inc., Douglas DC-9, Tann Company Beechcraft Baron B-55 In-Flight Collision Near Urbana, Ohio, March 8, 1967. Washington, DC: NTSB (File No. 1-0002), June 19, 1968, 60 pages. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR68-AI.pdf