1969 — Sep 9, Air traffic control failure, Allegheny Air 853/Piper collide, Fairland, IN–83
–84 Airdisaster.com. Accident Database. “Accident Synopsis 09091969.”
–83 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Allegheny Air Flight 853, 09 Sep 1969.
–83 Kimura. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Ed., 1946-1993, V.1. 4-11-1994, p. 2-10.
–83 NationMaster.com. Encyclopedia, List of Notable Accidents and Incidents Com. Aircraft.
–83 NTSB. AAR. Allegheny Airlines… and…Piper PA-28…Near Fairland, IN, Sep 9, 1969.
–82 Allegheny Air 853
— 1 Piper PA-28
Narrative Information
NTSB Synopsis:
“An Allegheny Airlines, Inc., X-9, N988VJ, and a Forth Corporation, Piper PA-28, N7374J, collided in flight approximately 4 miles northwest of Fairland, Indiana, at approximately 1529 e.d.t., September 9, 1969. All 83 occupants, 78 passengers and four crewmembers, aboard the DC-9 and the pilot of the PA-28 were fatally injured. Both aircraft were destroyed by the collision and ground impact.
“Allegheny 853 was under positive radar control of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Indianapolis Approach Control, descending from 6,000 feet to an assigned altitude of 2,530 feet at the time of the collision. N7374J has being flown by a student pilot on a solo cross-country in accordance with a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan. The collision occurred at an altitude of approximately 3,550 feet.
“The visibility in the area was at least 15 miles, but there was an intervening cloud condition which precluded the crew of either aircraft from sighting the other until a f e w seconds prior to collision.
“Based in part upon this investigation, the Board has submitted recommendations to the FAA concerning establishment of minimum standards for radar reflectivity of small aircraft, and mandatory aircrew training programs on effective scanning patterns and procedures.
“The Board also convened a public hearing on the Midair Collision Problem in general, which was attended by all segments of the aviation community. The material received at that hearing will be the subject of a separate report.
“The Board determines the probable cause of this accident to be the deficiencies in the collision avoidance capability of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system of the Federal Aviation Administration in a terminal area wherein there was mixed Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic. The deficiencies included the inadequacy of the see-and-avoid concept under the circumstances of this case; the technical limitations of radar in detecting all aircraft; and the absence of Federal Aviation Regulations which would provide a system of adequate separation of mixed VFR and IFR traffic in terminal areas. (NTSB. Allegheny Airlines… and…Piper PA-28…Near Fairland, IN, Sep 9, 1969, pp. 1-2.)
History of the Flight
“Allegheny Airlines, Inc., Flight 853 (Allegheny 853), is a regularly scheduled flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to St. Louis, Missouri, with intermediate stops at Baltimore, Maryland, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana. On September 9, 1969, the flight departed Boston at 1200 and proceeded routinely to Cincinnati. Departure , at 1515, was in accordance with an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) clearance to Indianapolis…at an altitude of 10,000 feet. There were 78 passengers and four crewmembers aboard….
“Piper PA-28, N7374J, owned and operated by the Forth Corporation, was based at Brookside Airpark, approximately 20 miles northeast of Indianapolis. On September 9, 1969, the aircraft was leased to a student pilot, who was to complete a solo cross-country flight. Although the pilot had intended to fly to Purdue University Airport, deteriorating weather had prompted a change in plans, and he selected Bakalar AFB, approximately 40 miles south of Brookside….
Analysis and Conclusions
“This accident involved an intermix of high-speed aircraft and low-speed aircraft under the combined active and passive control of the air traffic control system within a terminal area. The complexity of operating such a system, in this instance, was increased by meteorological circumstances which reduced the safety features below an acceptable level….
“…several…studies have resulted in a consensus that 15 seconds is the absolute minimum time for detection, evaluation, and evasive action if the collision is to be avoided. On this basis, neither the pilot of N7374J or the crew of Allegheny 853 would have had sufficient time to ‘see and avoid’ the other aircraft, even if they had devoted virtually their entire attention outside the cockpit, scanning for other aircraft.
“In this connection, it should be borne in mind that Allegheny Airlines procedures require a ca1l by the pilot not flying the aircraft when the aircraft, during descent, passes through the altitude 1,000 feet above the clearance altitude. In this instance, the call was required at 3,500 feet and the first officer, who made the call about 2 seconds prior to the collision, would have been required to monitor the altimeter for a few hundred feet prior to reaching the altitude in order to note passage. The captain’s ability, meanwhile, to observe the other aircraft from his position in the left seat was virtually nil. Accordingly, the Board believes that if the high rates of descent in the approach area to civil airports are to be continued, the airspace involved must be protected by positive air traffic control procedures.
“With respect to the application of the “see and be seen” concept to this accident, history has shown that restrictions to visibility have had little to do with the cause of most midair collisions. Nearly a1l occurred in visibility conditions greater than 3 miles and most in visibility conditions greater than 5 miles. In the present case, the visibility was 15 miles. Accordingly, there is little likelihood of any significant improvement in safety by a simple requirement for increasing the present visibility minimums — unless it would be to the extent that there would be fewer VFR flights and more IFR operations….” (NTSB. Allegheny…Piper PA-28…Fairland…Sep 9, 1969.)
NationMaster.com: “Eight witnesses saw the aircraft collide. They reported broken to scattered cloud cover in the area, but both aircraft were below the clouds and could be seen clearly at the time of the collision. Neither aircraft attempted a collision avoidance maneuver according to the witnesses. Wreckage analysis later concluded the PA-28’s left forward side just forward of the left wing root clipped the DC-9’s upper right vertical tail just below the horizontal stabilizer….” (NationMaster.com, Encyclopedia, “Allegheny Airlines Flight 853.”)
Sources
AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 09091969. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=09091969®=N988VJ&airline=Allegheny+Airlines
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, 09 Sep 1969. Accessed 3/2/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19690909-1
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. Allegheny Airlines, Inc., DC-9, N988VJ, and a Forth Corporation, Piper PA-28, N7374J, Near Fairland, Indiana, September 9, 1969 (SA-417; File No. 1-0016; NTSB-AAR-70-15). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted July 15, 1970, 39 pages. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR70-15.pdf
NationMaster.com. Encyclopedia. “List of Notable Accidents and Incidents on Commercial Aircraft.” Accessed 12-15-2008 at: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-notable-accidents-and-incidents-on-commercial-aircraft