20th Century

 

Costa Rica      — 6  United Press International. (Cited in Pasch.)

Cuba  — 2  Pasch. Prelim. Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 Nov 1994. 12-25-1998 update.[1]

Dominican Rep.: — 2  Pasch. Prelim. Rpt. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 Nov 1994. 12-25-1998.[2]

Haiti:

—   531  Associated Press (quoting Haitian government officials). 11-19-1994. (Cited in Pasch.)

—   829  Miami Herald, 12-24-1994. (Cited in Pasch.)

–1,122  United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs. Geneva. 12-21-1994. (In: Pasch)

Jamaica  — 2  Pasch. Prelim. Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 Nov 1994. 12-25-1998 update.[3]

 

United States:

–11  NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994, p. 19.

 

Florida:

–11  NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994, p. 19.

–8  Direct (7 drownings and 1 tornado blunt force trauma)

–3  Indirect

–1  Heart attack while pushing a car stalled in a flooded road.

–2  Traffic Accidents

— 8  Pasch. Prelim. Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 November 1994. 12-25-1998 update.

–1  Brevard Co., Micco, Nov 15. Trauma to head; waterspout F2 tornado; male, 74.[4]

–1  Broward County, Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Nov 18. Drowning; rip current; male, 35.[5]

–2  Broward Co., Hillsboro Inlet. Drownings; boat capsized “by swells from Gordon.”

–1  Dade County, Haulover Beach. Drowning; male surfer.

–1  Dade County. “One woman drowned along a north Dade beach.”

–1  Dade County. Drowning; car goes into Miami River during heavy rain; male.

–1  Dade County. Drowning; car “plunged into a canal during heavy rains.”

 

Narrative Information

 

NCDC: “Tropical Storm Gordon, after a serpentine track through the Caribbean Sea, began affecting south Florida on the 13th when located off the northeast coast of Cuba. Gordon moved slowly west northwest reaching the lower Florida Keys late on the 15th. On the 16th, Gordon turned northeast and accelerated, moving inland near Ft. Myers in the morning and exiting into the Atlantic just north of Vero Beach in the late afternoon. After becoming a hurricane off of the coast of North Carolina, then weakening to a tropical depression and moving south and west, Gordon moved ashore a second time just north of Melbourne on the 21st. Over land, the maximum sustained wind was measured at 53 mph at Virginia Key in east Dade County, and the minimum central pressure was 995 m b shortly after initial landfall near Ft. Myers.

 

“Gordon directly caused 8 fatalities and 43 injuries. Seven of the deaths were drownings, five in the Atlantic off of the southeast coast, and two when cars plunged into canals in Dade County. One death and 40 injuries resulted from a tornado in Brevard County, one of six tornados spun off by Gordon. There were three indirect deaths, one from a heart attack while pushing a car stalled in a flooded road, and two in traffic accidents.

 

“Gordon’s total damage is estimated around $400 million. Agricultural interests suffered $275 million in losses, primarily from fresh-water flooding caused by widespread rainfalls totaling 6 to 16 inches. Vegetable and tropical fruit crops in south Florida were particularly hard hit. Inland flooding caused damage to buildings through both rising fresh-water and collapse of rain-loaded roofs. Especially hard hit was Volusia County where 1236 buildings (977 single family homes, 68 mobile homes and 139 multi-family buildings) reported flood damage, and losses were estimated at over $26 million. Public works suffered from the effects of both water and wind with damage to roadways, sewer facilities, utility lines and signs. Marine effects included several boat sinkings or groundings, including a 506-foot freighter which was beached off of Ft. Lauderdale. At least 37 people were rescued from sinking boats. One woman was rescued after being swept 1,000 yards off of a fishing pier in Boynton Beach. Atlantic beaches suffered moderate to locally severe erosion which undermined a few buildings. A number of sea walls and beach access walks were destroyed. Some coastal roads along the east coast were inundated by a storm surge, estimated to be a maximum of 1 to 2 feet along Miami Beach.”

 

Sources

 

Associated Press (Barefoot Bay, FL). “Gordon has transformed to hurricane.” Brownsville Herald, TX, 12-18-1994, 12A. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=185510048&sterm

 

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena With Late Reports and Corrections. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994. Accessed 10-27-2014 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-E58939EC-4697-479F-BCEA-58EA30D046BF.pdf

 

Pasch, Richard J. Preliminary Report. Hurricane Gordon, 8-21 November 1994. Miami, FL: National Hurricane Center, NCEP, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1-10-1995; updated 12-25-1998. Accessed 10-27-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1994gordon.html

 

 

[1] Cites “reports.”

[2] Cites “reports.”

[3] Cites “reports.”

[4] NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 11, Nov 1994, p. 20. Writes “A waterspout-F2 tornado, on the outer fringes of tropical storm Gordon, struck the Barefoot Bay area of southern Brevard County around 6:53 PM. A 74-year-old male was killed by trauma to the head, and about 40 people were injured. Six were hospitalized…The waterspout made landfall just south of the entrance to Barefoot Bay on US Highway 1. The tornado moved northwest through the Snug Harbor/Barefoot Bay mobile home community. About 62 mobile homes were destroyed, 46 received major damage and 181 had minor damage. The tornado exited the community and continued on the ground or in the tree-tops for about a mile. Total path length was about 2.5 miles with a width between 25 and 50 yards. At the end of the track a funnel cloud was reported by a truck operator on Interstate 95 in southern Brevard County  Property damage is estimated near $10 million.” Victim identified as Jack Fuller in AP (Barefoot Bay, FL). “Gordon has transformed to hurricane.” Brownsville Herald, TX, 12-18-1994, 12A.

[5] “…while rescuing his 8-year old son.” NCDC Storm Date report writes: “A 35-year-old doctor at Harvard Medical School drowned in a rip current while saving his 8-year-old son. The incident took place at a private motel beach south of Ft. Lauderdale Beach and was caused by large swells from Gordon.”

— 68  Aviation Safety Network. “Accident Description, American Eagle…Flight 4184.”

— 68  Hubert, Ronan. “Crash of an ATR72-212 in Chicago: 68 killed.” BAAA, Geneva, SUI.[1]

— 68  NationMaster.com. American Eagle Flight 4184.

— 68  NTSB, AAR, In-Flight Icing Encounter and Loss of Control…Flight 4184, 1996, p. vii.

— 68  WTHR 13, Indianapolis. “Victims of 1994 Roselawn…crash remembered…” 10-30-2014.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB Executive Summary: “On October 31, 1994, at 1559 Central Standard Time, an Avions de Transport Regional, model 72-212 (ATR 72), registration number N401AM, leased to and operated by Simmons Airlines, Incorporated, and doing business as American Eagle flight 4184, crashed during a rapid descent after an uncommanded roll excursion. The airplane was in a holding pattern and was descending to a newly assigned altitude of 8,000 feet when the initial roll excursion occurred. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces; and the captain, first officer, 2 flight attendants and 64 passengers received fatal injuries. Flight 4184 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight being conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 121; and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable causes of this accident were the loss of control, attributed to a sudden and unexpected aileron hinge moment reversal that occurred after a ridge of ice accreted beyond the deice boots because: 1) ATR failed to completely disclose to operators, and incorporate in the ATR 72 airplane flight manual, flightcrew operating manual and flightcrew training programs, adequate information concerning previously known effects of freezing precipitation on the stability and control characteristics, autopilot and related operational procedures when the ATR 72 was operated in such conditions; 2) the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation’s inadequate oversight of the ATR 42 and 72, and its failure to take the necessary corrective action to ensure continued airworthiness in icing conditions; and 3) the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation’s failure to provide the

Federal Aviation Administration with timely airworthiness information developed from previous ATR incidents and accidents in icing conditions, as specified under the Bilateral Airworthiness Agreement and Annex 8 of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

 

“Contributing to the accident were: 1) the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to ensure that aircraft icing certification requirements, operational requirements for flight into icing conditions, and Federal Aviation Administration published aircraft icing information adequately accounted for the hazards that can result from flight in freezing rain and other icing conditions not specified in 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 25, Appendix C; and 2) the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate oversight of the ATR 42 and 72 to ensure continued airworthiness in icing conditions.

 

“The safety issues in this report focused on communicating hazardous weather information to flightcrews, Federal regulations regarding aircraft icing and icing certification requirements, the monitoring of aircraft airworthiness, and flightcrew training for unusual events/attitudes.

 

“Safety recommendations concerning these issues were addressed to the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and AMR Eagle. Also, as a result of this accident, on November 7, 1994, the Safety Board issued five safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the flight characteristics and performance of ATR 42 and ATR 72 airplanes in icing conditions. In addition, on November 6, 1995, the Safety Board issued four safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration concerning the Air Traffic Control System Command Center. In accordance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the Bureau Enquetes-Accidents provided comments on the Safety Board’s draft of the accident report that are contained in Volume II of this report.”  (NTSB. AAR. Flight 4184, pp. vii-viii.)

 

“Survival Aspects

 

“The accident was not survivable because the impact forces exceeded human tolerances, and no occupiable space remained intact. The Newton County Coroner’s Office investigative report stated that the occupants sustained fatal injuries due to, “multiple anatomical separations secondary to velocity impact of aircraft accident.”.” (NTSB. AAR. Flight 4184, p. 73.)

 

NTSB: “The French Bureau Enquetes-Accidents strongly disagreed with the NTSB report, with what it claimed was a virtual exclusion of the investigative phase of the NTSB investigation, and offered its own 341 page report containing the following substitute Probable Cause statement:

 

The Probable Cause of this accident is the loss of control of the aircraft by the flight crew, caused by the accretion of a ridge of ice aft of the de-icing boots, upstream of the ailerons, due to a prolonged operation of Flight 4184 in a freezing drizzle environment, well beyond the aircraft’s certification envelope, close to VFE, and utilizing a 15 degree flap holding configuration not provided for by the Aircraft Operating Manuals, which led to a sudden roll upset following an unexpected Aileron Hinge Moment Reversal when the crew retracted the flaps during the descent.

 

The contributing factors to this highly unusual chain of events are:

 

1. The failure of the flight crew to comply with basic procedures, to exercise proper situational awareness, cockpit resource management, and sterile cockpit procedures, in a

known icing environment, which prevented them from exiting these conditions prior to the ice-induced roll event, and their lack of appropriate control inputs to recover the aircraft when the event occurred:

 

2. The insufficient recognition, by Airworthiness Authorities and the aviation industry worldwide, of freezing drizzle characteristics and their potential effect on aircraft performance and controllability;

 

3. The failure of Western Airworthiness Authorities to ensure that aircraft icing certification conditions adequately account for the hazards that can result from flight in conditions outside 14 CFR Part 25, Appendix C, and to adequately account for such hazards in their published aircraft icing information;

 

4. The lack of anticipation by the Manufacturer as well as by Airworthiness and Investigative Authorities in Europe and in the USA, prior to the post accident Edwards AFB testing program, that the ice-induced Aileron Hinge moment reversal phenomenon could occur.

 

5. The ATC’s improper release, control, and monitoring of Flight 4184. (NTSB. Flight 4184, Vol. II, p. 10.)

 

“The NTSB’s record in this investigation clearly shows that this flight crew had entered icing conditions, and yet failed to comply with mandatory requirements pertaining to such conditions contained in the applicable flight manuals, Federal Aviation Regulations, and explicit company policies, which, if followed, would have prevented this accident….

 

“Thus, the BEA strenuously disagrees with the current Analysis, Findings, and Probable Cause Statement sections, which ignore, or address in a very shallow fashion, very important issues in this accident, and only addresses in an excessive mode the aircraft and the manufacturer’s and Airworthiness Authorities’ responses to certain prior incidents. This excessive approach is simply no supported by the NTSB’s own record of investigation.”  (NTSB. Flight 4184, Vol. II, 11.)

 

“The NTSB knows of the extensive wind tunnel testing, high speed taxi tests, flight testing, and considerable efforts spent by the manufacturer after Roselawn for the first-ever USAF tanker freezing drizzle/rain testing program for civil or military aircraft at Edwards AFB. The NTSB knows from its own involvement in the testing that the phenomenon of an “ice-induced aileron hinge moment reversal” and its associated flow separation behind the boots at low Angle of Attack was discovered for the very first time as a result of this exhaustive post-Roselawn investigation.”  (NTSB. Flight 4184, Vol. II, 15.)

 

ASN: This was the first loss of an ATR-72 and, as of February 2008, the worst. At the time it was the 35^th worst aviation accident in the US, and, as of Feb 2008 the 42^nd worst. (Aviation Safety Network, Accident Description, American Eagle/Simmons Airlines Flight 4184)

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. American Eagle/Simmons Airlines Flight 4184.  Accessed 12/19/2008 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19941031-1

 

Hubert, Ronan. “Crash of an ATR72-212 in Chicago: 68 killed.” Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 2-26-2016 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/1994/archives/crash-of-an-atr72-in-chicago-68-killed/

 

National Transportation Safety  Board. Aircraft Accident Report. In-Flight Icing Encounter and Loss of Control, Simmons Airlines, d.b.a. American Eagle Flight 4184, Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) Model 72-212, N401AM, Roselawn, Indiana, October 31, 1994 (NTSB/AAR-96/01; NTIS PB96-910401). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted July 9, 1996, 340 pages.  Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/1996/aar9601.pdf

 

National Transportation Safety  Board. Aircraft Accident Report. In-Flight Icing Encounter and Loss of Control, Simmons Airlines, d.b.a. American Eagle Flight 4184, Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) Model 72-212, N401AM, Roselawn, Indiana, October 31, 1994. Volume II:  Response of Bureau Enquetes-Accidents to Safety Board’s Draft Report (NTSB/AAR-96/02; NTIS PB96-910402). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted July 9, 1996, Notation 6486C, 341 pages.  Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1996/AAR9602.pdf

 

WTHR 13, Indianapolis (David MacAnally). “Victims of 1994 Roselawn plane crash remembered on 20^th anniversary.” 10-30-2014, updated 10-31-2014. Accessed 2-26-2016 at: http://www.wthr.com/story/27167731/2014/10/30/dedication-set-at-memorial-of-1994-plane-crash

 

[1] While the plane’s destination was Chicago, the crash was near Roselawn, Indiana.

— 22 Blanchard tally of breakouts below (including Dallas County). — 22 Smith, et al. “Catastrophic Rainfall…Flooding in Texas.” Jour. Hydromet., 1/1, 2000. — 22 USGS Fact Sheet (FS-94-073). “Floods in Southeast Texas October 1994.” Jan 1995. — 19 NCDC. Storm Data, 36/10, Oct 1994, p. 41 (2 deaths in Dallas Co.), pp. 44-45 (17). — 19 TX Dept. of State Health Services. Flood-Related Mortality – [SE TX] Oct 16-25, 1994. — 18 USGS. Major and Catastrophic Storms and Floods in Texas…1853 to Sep 21 2002. — 17 NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, 36/10, Oct 1994, p. 45. — 17 NWS WFO Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years…[SE TX]Weather (1900-2000). — 17 Perry (USGS). Summary of Significant Floods in the United States…1994… 2005, p261. Breakout by cause: –20 Drowning. Blanchard tally of NCDC Storm Data Flash flood/flood deaths, including Dallas Co. –17 Drowning. TX DSHS. Flood-Related Mortality – [SE TX] Oct 16-25, 1994. –9 Vehicle-related. TX DSHS. Flood-Related Mortality…Oct 16-25, 1994. –2 Children trying to reach safety after mother’s car driven into water. –1 Infant swept from father’s arms on roof of car driven into water. –1 Male lost control of vehicle, skidded into flooded gully. –1 Male; culvert collapsed, sending his vehicle into flooded creek. –2 Ranchers on horseback attempting to drive animals to higher ground. –2 Trying to swim in flood water. –3 People who slipped into flood water while walking. –1 Female inside her home. — 1 Carbon monoxide poisoning. TX DSHS. Flood-Related Mortality…Oct 16-25, 1994. — 1 Vehicle/pedestrian collision. TX DSHS. Flood-Related Mortality…Oct 16-25, 1994. Breakout by locality: — 1 Chambers County, Oct 17 (03:00 CST)-Oct 18 (12:00 CST). Flash Flood/Flood. — 1 Dallas County, 4 miles from west Balch Springs, Oct 21, 17:00 CST. Flash Flood. — 1 Dallas County, Balch Springs, Oct 21, 17:22 CST. Flash Flood. — 1 Fort Bend County, Oct 18, 05:00-18:00 CST. Flash Flood/Flood. — 3 Grimes County, Oct 16 (21:00 CST)-Oct 18 (10:00 CST). Flash Flood. — 3 Harris County, Oct 17 (03:00 CST)-Oct 18 (12:00 CST). Flash Flood/Flood. — 1 Lavaca County, ~Hallettsville, Oct 18-19. Female, 22; vehicle washed into Brush Creek. — 6 Montgomery County, Oct 16 (22:30 CST)-Oct 18 (10:00). Flash Flood/Flood. — 2 Polk County, Oct 16 (22:30 CST)-Oct 18 (10:00). Flash Flood/Flood. — 1 San Jacinto County, Oct 16 (22:30 CST)-Oct 18 (10:00). Flash Flood/Flood. Narrative Information NCDC Storm Data, Southeast and Mid-TX Coast, Oct 16-18: “Widespread heavy rainfall of between 7.00 and 20. 00 inches fell across the five counties between the 16th and the 18th of October. This rain occurred in the wake of Pacific Hurricane Rosa that crossed into Mexico and through Texas earlier in the previous week. A deep plume of tropical moisture surged northward behind Rosa as it had slowed after entering the Mississippi Valley. A weak cold front moving southward into Texas had become stationary along the Texas Coast between the Victoria and Austin areas on October 15th. The combination of deep tropical moisture and great instability was translated into widespread and continual thunderstorm development along the quasi-stationary frontal boundary. Rainfall began falling first in Bastrop, Lee and Fayette Counties, spreading to the southeast after the 17th of October. Thunderstorms developing along the boundary continued to move northeastward for many hours, producing rainfall of generally 8.00 to 12.00 inches with isolated area of up to 20.00 inches….” (National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 10, Oct 1994, p. 47.) NCDC Storm Data, Southeast TX: “Heavy rains began falling late Sunday afternoon [16th] across Burleson, Brazos, Grimes and Washington Counties. Rains quickly spread east across Madison, Houston, Walker, Trinity, San Jacinto, Polk and Montgomery Counties by midnight. Before sunrise [17th] the rains had spread south into Austin, Waller, Harris and Liberty Counties. Rainfall amounts overnight ranged from 10 to 18 inches in the above mentioned counties and most of these areas had experienced flash flooding during the night. “During the night [16th-17th] five lives were lost in the flash floods in three separate instances. “During the day Monday [17th] the heavy rain began shifting further south across southern Harris and southern Liberty Counties. The city of Liberty ended up with slightly over 30 inches of rain during the storm for the greatest amount recorded. Most of this rain fell during the day Monday into Monday night and Tuesday morning [18th]. “During the day Monday [17th] an additional seven people drowned in the flood bringing the two day total to 12 people. “On Monday night and Tuesday rains continue to slide further south and began affecting people in Jackson, Wharton, Matagorda, Brazoria and portions of Fort Bend Counties. Over the next two days [16th-17th] an additional 5 people died as a result of the floods. “Total rainfall for the entire storm generally ranged from 10 to 20 inches with Liberty recording 30.50 inches of rain during the storm. Even before the flash flood producing rains had ended flooding of rivers, creeks and bayous had begun and would continue in some cases to the end of October. Major rivers that experienced flooding included the Trinity from just above Lake Livingston to the mouth of the Trinity River at Trinity Bay. Record height on Lake Livingston was recorded on October 17 which resulted in a record release from the dam of over 110,000 cfs. This record release in combination an additional inflow of 45,000 cfs from Long King Creek below the dam led to a record flood along the Trinity River below Lake Livingston. The Trinity River at Liberty set a new record crest on October 21 and when a levee system failed much of the city of Liberty was underwater. The San Jacinto River System across Montgomery County and northern Harris County was also at record heights during the flood. Lake Conroe reached a record height on the afternoon of October 17 which resulted in record releases from the lake and also resulted in record heights along the river all the way to Lake Houston. Spring Creek along the Harris/Montgomery County border reached a record height of 49.8 feet on October 18 breaking the previous record of 33.6 feet set in 1940. The excessive inflow into Lake Houston resulted in a record height at Lake Houston of 52.76 feet which is three feet higher than the previous record. The uncontrolled spillway at Lake Houston released an estimated 354,000 cfs into the lower San Jacinto River that eventually flows into the Houston Ship Channel. The tremendous flows caused four fuel pipelines to rupture resulting in a fuel spill in the river and subsequent fires. Further west the Colorado and Brazos Rivers were also in flood. “The floods on the Brazos lasted until October 27 in Brazoria County even though Brazoria County for the most part was spared the heavy rain the previous week. Even further west the Lavaca Navidad in Jackson County went into flood on Tuesday morning closing highway 59 in Edna. The river remained above flood stage til the end of the week. In Harris, northern Brazoria and northern Galveston Counties Sims Bayou and Clear Creek left their banks flooding several subdivisions and causing numerous evacuations. “In summary 17 people lost their lives during the flood. Over 13,000 people had to be evacuated during the floods and over 22,000 homes received flood damage. Total damage to homes and business’s was approximately 800 million dollars while another 100 million dollars damage was done to roads and bridges throughout southeast Texas. During the height of the flood several major highways leading into and out of Houston were impassable due to high water. These included Interstate 10 east of Houston, Highway 59 at Humble in northeast Harris County was underwater and Interstate 45 at Conroe in Montgomery County was also underwater.” (National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 10, Oct 1994, p. 45.) NCDC Storm Data, Southern TX, Lavaca County, Oct 18-19: “Rainfall varied between 12.00 and 15.00 inches over the county generally, with the highest amounts in the southeast part of the county. The maximum rainfall was estimated at nearly 20.00 inches in extreme southeast Lavaca County. One death was reported in Lavaca as the result of the flooding. A 22-year old woman from Yoakum drowned when the vehicle she was driving along US 77 south of Hallettsville was washed off the road into Brushy Creek. Widespread damage was indicated to roads in the southern part of the county. The Lavaca River remained below flood stage although it did exceed bank-full stage. No flooding of homes was indicated.” (National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 10, Oct 1994, p. 48.) NWS WFO, Houston/Galveston: “The October 1994 Floods – October 17-21, 1994 • 2-3 days of heavy rain produced widespread flooding over much of the region • 17 persons killed • Damage to homes…bridges…agriculture estimated to exceed $900 million dollars • Over 22,000 homes flooded • Record lake levels at Lake Conroe…Lake Livingston and Lake Houston with a record high release (flow) of 110,000 cubic feet per second at Lake Livingston • Ruptured fuel pipelines produced a fire on the San Jacinto River • Over 10,000 people displaced from their homes and 25 counties were declared Federal disaster areas.” (National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years of Southeast Texas Weather (1900-2000). Dickinson, TX: 12-20-2009 modification.) Smith, et al.: “Heavy rainfall and flooding occurred on the Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic province of southeastern Texas in October 1994 and caused 22 deaths and more than $1 billion in damages.” (Smith, et al. “Catastrophic Rainfall and Flooding in Texas.” Journal of Hydrometeorology, 1/1, Feb 2000, 5-25.) TX DSHS: “Heavy, prolonged rains beginning October 16, 1994, resulted in devastating flooding of much of southeastern Texas over a period of roughly two weeks. Fed by deep tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, a large storm cell developed over Montgomery, Walker, Polk and San Jacinto counties. More than five inches of rain fell in less than three hours. Excessive rainfall continued throughout the next forty-eight hours. “Thirty-five counties were declared either total or partial federal disaster areas. Most of these counties received 10-15 inches of rain. Lake Conroe and the west fork of the San Jacinto River, the Trinity River above Lake Livingston, and the Trinity River above Liberty received 20-25 inches of rain. The result was massive flooding in the Brazos, San Jacinto and Trinity river basins, in Pine Island Bayou, and the Neches River watershed. Eighty-seven water systems in ten counties were contaminated or otherwise affected by flood waters. Fifty-year-old crest records of lakes, creeks and rivers were frequently broken. “The 1994 population in the affected counties is estimated to be 5,082,262, or approximately one-third of the entire population of Texas. Over 10,000 persons were evacuated from flooded areas. More than 20,000 homes, several schools, and numerous businesses sustained some degree of flood damage. Numerous roads were inundated and closed. “This report summarizes findings of the investigation of deaths associated with the floods. To assess mortality associated with this episode of flooding, staff of the Injury Prevention and Control Program (IPCP), Bureau of Epidemiology, Texas Department of Health, obtained epidemiologic information from officials in a 36-county area (35 disaster-declared counties and one adjacent county [Lavaca]). Medical examiners, sheriffs, county judges, emergency management office personnel, hospital personnel, and Texas Department of Health regional office personnel were questioned by telephone using a standard survey tool developed by IPCP. “A case was defined as a death that occurred between October 16 and October 25, 1994, and was directly or indirectly related to flooding in the study area. A directly-related death was defined as one that resulted from physical contact with flood water, such as drowning. An indirectly-related death was defined as one that did not result from physical contact with flood water, and which would not have happened if flooding had not occurred. Examples of indirect deaths include those resulting from a flood-related activity, such as electrocution due to post-flood cleanup, cardiac arrest due to exertion or stress during the flood or during post-flood cleanup, or motor vehicle crashes related to flood-diverted traffic patterns. A motor vehicle-related death was defined as any death that would not have occurred in the absence of a motor vehicle. “Nineteen deaths occurred as a result of the floods between October 16 through October 25. Eighteen victims were Texas residents and one was a Mexican National. Seventeen of the nineteen deaths (89%) were directly-related to flooding (i.e., victims drowned), while the remaining two (11%) deaths were indirectly-related to flooding (e.g., one death due to motor vehicle-pedestrian collision and the other due to carbon monoxide poisoning). “Decedents ranged in age from 2 months to 72 years (mean: 41 years; median: 43 years). Seventy-four percent (14/19) of decedents were males. “Fifty-eight percent (11/19) of the confirmed deaths occurred because a motor-vehicle was first driven into high water. Nine of the eleven (82%) motor vehicle-related deaths were due to drowning. “Seven victims and their vehicles were swept from roadways by fast-moving, deep water. For example, a mother lost two of four children as the family attempted to reach safety after their car was driven into high water; and an infant slipped from the arms of his father as the family climbed onto the roof of their car after driving into high water. One victim was a pedestrian hit by an auto trying to avoid high water on the road; one victim died of carbon monoxide poisoning while idling his pickup truck in high water which surrounded him; one victim lost control of his vehicle which then skidded into a flooded gully; and one victim died when a culvert collapsed, sending him and his vehicle into the flooded creek. Nine of the eleven (82%) motor vehicle-related deaths occurred within approximately five miles of the victim’s home. “Forty-two percent (8/19) of the deaths were non-motor vehicle-related. Two deaths occurred to ranchers on horseback as they attempted to drive their animals to higher ground; two individuals died when they attempted to swim in flood waters; three victims were walking when they slipped into flood waters; and one victim drowned while inside her home. “Sixty-eight percent (13/19) of deaths occurred in the first two days of the flood (October 16 and 17). “Nearly all (10/11, 91%) of the motor vehicle-related deaths occurred in the first two days of flooding. Eighteen of the nineteen deaths occurred during flash flooding of creeks or rivers. Two separate incidents (involving three flash flood deaths) occurred on October 16, within one hour and 100 yards of each other on Holland Creek in Grimes county. Three other flash flood deaths involved flood waters of the San Jacinto River in Montgomery and San Jacinto counties. Two of these deaths occurred within thirty minutes of each other on the same river in Montgomery and San Jacinto counties, while the other death in Montgomery county occurred two days later. Deaths from San Jacinto River and Holland Creek accounted for 33% (6/18) of flash flood deaths. “The only death not due to flash flooding occurred when a 63 year old woman refused to leave her home in Montgomery county and drowned in rising water from a flooding river. “Seventy-four percent (14/19) of the deaths occurred in four counties (Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Polk). Montgomery and Harris counties had five and four deaths, respectively.” (Texas Department of State Health Services. Flood-Related Mortality – Southeast Texas October 16-25, 1994. 9-9-2004, 3 pages.) Liscum and East: “Rainfall in southeast Texas, which ranged in amounts from about 8 to more than 28 inches during October 15-19, 1994, caused severe flooding in parts of a 38-county area. A combination of meteorological events — residual atmospheric moisture over southern Texas associated with Hurricane Rosa from the Pacific Coast of Mexico and low-level moisture from the Gulf of Mexico drawn inland to a warm front by a strong low-pressure system over the southern Rocky Mountains — spawned vigorous thunderstorms that produced rainfall amounts that may exceed records for the area. “Flooding was most severe in the San Jacinto River Basin along the West and East Forks of the San Jacinto River and along Spring Creek; in the Trinity River Basin near Lake Livingston and along several tributaries to the lake; and in the Lavaca River Basin. Flooding was also severe in several coastal basins, notably Cedar and Pine Island Bayous. Many of the resulting peak stages (maximum water-surface elevation above a datum) and streamflows exceeded all observed historical values. “Assessment of the flood damage continued into November. The Houston Chronicle in early November listed 22 flood-related deaths and 15,775 homes damaged, including 3,069 destroyed and 6,560 requiring major repairs. As of November 8, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had declared 29 of the 38 counties to be disaster areas, received 26,000 applications for disaster assistance, and approved $54 million in disaster assistance. Railroad and highway roadbeds and bridges, and oil and gasoline pipelines, sustained major damage. Resulting spills of oil and gasoline caused environmental damage, particularly to the lower San Jacinto River and Galveston Bay. The Texas Insurance Commissioner estimates privately covered insurance losses at $700 million…. “By any measure, the flooding of October 1994 was an extreme and dangerous event. Historical peak streamflows were exceeded at 23 of the 43 stations monitored in the area. The 100-year flood, which is defined as the peak streamflow that has a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, was equaled at 3 stations and exceeded at 16 of the 43 stations. For those stations where the 100-year flood was exceeded, the magnitude of exceedance ranged from 1.1 times the 100-year flood at several stations…to 2.9 times the 100-year flood at Kickapoo Creek near Onalaska… At 25 of the 43 stations, the peak stages for the floods exceeded the historical maximums.” (United States Geological Survey (Fred Liscum and Jeffery W. East). “Floods in Southeast Texas October 1994 (Fact Sheet FS-94-073).” Jan 1995, p. 1-2.) Sources City of Balch Springs, TX. Hickory Creek Flood Protection Planning Study Final Report. Richardson, TX: Halff Associates for City of Balch Springs, 7-29-2011. Accessed 2-26-2016 at: http://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/reports/contracted_reports/doc/0904830952_HickoryCreek.pdf National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 36, No. 10, Oct 1994. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA. Accessed 2-26-2016 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-F408E215-0A8E-4779-A9E0-7FBBA72DE9BE.pdf National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years of Southeast Texas Weather (1900-2000). Dickinson, TX: NWS, 12-20-2009 modification. Accessed 6-8-2012 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=climate_holidays_hundred Perry, Charles A. (USGS). Summary of Significant Floods in the United States and Puerto Rico, 1994 Through 1998 Water Years (Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5194). Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2005. Prepared in USGS, Lawrence, KS. Accessed 2-26-2016 at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5194/pdf/sir2005-5194.pdf Smith, James A., Mary Lynn Baeck, Julia E. Morrison, Paula Sturdevant-Rees. “Catastrophic Rainfall and Flooding in Texas.” Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 1, Is. 1, Feb 2000, pp. 5-25. At: http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/1525-7541%282000%29001%3C0005%3ACRAFIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2 Texas Department of Health (TDH). “Flood-Related Mortality in Southeast Texas, October 16-25.” Pages 50-52 in Epidemiology in Texas — 1994 Annual Report. Austin, TX: TDH. Accessed 2-26-2016 at: https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/data/documents/1994TexasAnnualReport.pdf Texas Department of State Health Services. Flood-Related Mortality – Southeast Texas October 16-25, 1994. 9-9-2004, 3 pages. http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=8589955223 United States Geological Survey (Fred Liscum and Jeffery W. East). “Floods in Southeast Texas October 1994 (Fact Sheet FS-94-073).” Jan 1995. Accessed 6-8-2012 at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-073-94/pdf/FS-94-073.pdf

— 11  Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX. “July 3 Marks Tenth Anniversary…46 Died.” 7-3-2004.

— 11  Hutchinson News, KS. “Carnage on Texas highways…31 dead…accidents.” 7-4-1994, 13.

— 11  Mexia Daily News, TX. “Texas has bloody traffic day.” 7-5-1994, 1.

— 11  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.

 

Narrative Information

 

July 4, AP: “Weatherford, Texas (AP) In one of the bloodiest days ever on Texas highways, 31 people died in three separate crashes Sunday…Eleven people died in…[a] collision…involving a tractor-trailer near the West Texas town of Snyder…

 

“…11 people were killed and six injured when a tractor-trailer rig slammed broadside into a pickup truck with three adults in the cab and 12 children crowded into its open bed, Cox said. The accident occurred near Snyder, 210 miles west of Fort Worth.

 

“Three children, ages 5 to 12, were flown 90 miles to the University Medical Center in Lubbock,

where they were in critical condition Sunday afternoon, a nursing supervisor said.  All of the dead and most of the injured were related, Cox said.  One person was in serious condition with bruises, lacerations and a possible head injury, a Cogdell Memorial Hospital spokeswoman said.

 

“The state’s single deadliest traffic accident occurred on March 14,1940, when a train hit a truck at a Hidalgo County railroad crossing, killing 29 people.  The deadliest day on Texas roads was Christmas Eve 1975 when 42 people were killed.  On Dec. 19, 1981, 41 people died on the state’s highways.” (Associated Press. “Carnage on Texas highways…31 dead…accidents.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-4-1994, 13.)

 

July 5: “….In one accident, 12 children were piled into the open bed of a pickup truck, a violation of Texas law….The driver of a pickup truck that crashed near Snyder failed to yield the right of way to one truck-tractor towing another.” (Kerrville Daily Times, TX. “Accidents take toll on Texas highways.” 7-5-1994, 1.)

 

July 5: “….The family was traveling from Snyder to Loraine when the accident occurred…”  (Mexia Daily News, TX.  “Texas has bloody traffic day.” 7-5-1994, 1.)

 

July 3, 2004: “….eight children and three adults died when their pickup truck was hit by the cab of an 18-wheeler. The 27-year-old pickup truck driver apparently had failed to yield the right of way as he attempted to pull onto a highway near Snyder….”  (Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX. “July 3 Marks Tenth Anniversary of Texas’ Deadliest Traffic Day, 46 Died.” 7-3-2004.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Carnage on Texas highways leaves 31 dead in three separate accidents.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-4-1994, 13. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/hutchinson-news/1994-07-04/page-13/

 

Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX. “July 3 Marks Tenth Anniversary of Texas’ Deadliest Traffic Day, 46 Died.” 7-3-2004. At: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1164835/posts

 

Kerrville Daily Times, TX. “Accidents take toll on Texas highways.” 7-5-1994, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/kerrville-daily-times/1994-07-05/page-1/

 

Mexia Daily News, TX. “Texas has bloody traffic day.” 7-5-1994, 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/the-mexia-daily-news/1994-07-05/page-1/

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

 

 

 

 

1994 — Sep 8, USAir Flight 427 crashes, Aliquippa, ~Pittsburgh International AP, PA– 132     

 

–132  Adair. The Mystery of Flight 427: Inside a Flight Investigation. Smithsonian Press, 2002.

–132  Assoc. Press. “Devastation Grim at Crash Scene.” Indiana Gazette, PA. 9-9-1994, p. 1.

–132  Hubert, R. “Crash of a Boeing 7370300 in Pittsburgh: 132 killed.” BAAA. Geneva, SUI.

–132  NTSB. AAR. Uncontrolled Descent and Collision with Terrain, USAir Flight 427. 1999.

–132  Sanders (Chair), et al. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. 178.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB: “Synopsis  On September 8, 1994, about 1903:23 eastern daylight time, USAir (now US Airways) flight 427, a Boeing 737-3B7 (737-300), N513AU, crashed while maneuvering to land at Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Flight 427 was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 as a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, to Pittsburgh. The flight departed about 1810, with 2 pilots, 3 flight attendants, and 127 passengers on board. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted terrain near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, about 6 miles northwest of the destination airport. All 132 people on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the USAir flight 427 accident was a loss of control of the airplane resulting from the movement of the rudder surface to its blowdown limit. The rudder surface most likely deflected in a direction opposite to that commanded by the pilots as a result of a jam of the main rudder power control unit servo valve secondary slide to the servo valve housing offset from its neutral position and overtravel of the primary slide.

 

“The safety issues in this report focused on Boeing 737 rudder malfunctions, including rudder reversals; the adequacy of the 737 rudder system design; unusual attitude training for air carrier pilots; and flight data recorder (FDR) parameters.

 

“Safety recommendations concerning these issues were addressed to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Also, as a result of this accident, the Safety Board issued a total of 22 safety recommendations to the FAA on October 18, 1996, and February 20, 1997, regarding operation of the 737 rudder system and unusual attitude recovery procedures. In addition, as a result of this accident and the United Airlines flight 585 accident (involving a 737-291) on March 3, 1991, the Safety Board issued three recommendations (one of which was designated “urgent”) to the FAA on February 22, 1995, regarding the need to increase the number of FDR parameters.” (NTSB. AAR. Uncontrolled Descent and Collision with Terrain, USAir Flight 427. 1999.)

 

Associated Press: “Aliquippa, Pa. (AP) — The jetliner banked to the right, rolled a few times and nose-dived into a ravine. There was a muffled boom, then the sky turned bright with flames as a black cloud of smoke mushroomed into the air. ‘It was just coming straight down,’ said one person who saw the USAir jetliner crash Thursday evening.

“All 132 people aboard the Boeing 737-300 died — the deadliest crash in the United States since 1987 and USAir’s fifth fatal crash in as many years. A pilot, nurse and paramedic flown in by a medical helicopter walked through the site moments after the 7:19 p.m. crash. They saw body parts hanging from trees and baggage strewn everywhere. ‘It was total devastation,’ said Jim Bothwell, director of operations for the STAT MedEvac helicopter service. ‘The airplane was in a million pieces and the people inside were in pieces.’

“USAir Flight 427 originated in Chicago and was to stop in Pittsburgh before continuing to West Palm Beach, Fla.

“Jason Moka, a 10-year-old who was playing soccer a half-mile from where the plane went down, said its engines seemed to be sputtering before the crash.

“The crew radioed Pittsburgh International Airport when the plane was about six miles away and ‘there was no indication at that time of any difficulty,’ USAir said in a statement this morning.  Skies were clear.  Investigators hoped to gain some clues from the plane’s black box, which records flight data. An emergency worker said the box was recovered.

“The plane was powered by CFM-3B1 engines, made by CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and French manufacturer Snecma. The plane was manufactured in 1987 and had logged 23,846 flight hours and 14,489 takeoffs and landings.

“The jet crashed in a rocky, heavily wooded ravine about 10 miles from Pittsburgh International Airport an area of Beaver County best known for producing tough-as-nails steel-workers and such football stars as Tony Dorsett and Mike Ditka. Firefighters fought their way to the scene through trees and down treacherous terrain, but there was no road to transport heavy vehicles.
The search was called off about two hours after the crash, and the area was sealed off for the night.

“Crews began cutting a road into the site at daybreak, and as of midmorning a team was waiting for clearance from investigators to begin the search for remains. Refrigerated trucks waited to bring bodies to a temporary morgue at Beaver County Airport.

“A heavy downpour this morning was expected to make removing the remains even more difficult.  With body parts strewn over a wide area, some victims may never be identified, said Beaver County Coroner Wayne Tatalovich.

“The plane’s tailpiece seems to be the only part intact, said Jim Eichealaub, Hopewell Township emergency services director.

“Witnesses said the plane rolled over once or twice and headed nose-down into the ravine.
‘I looked up and there it was,’ said Tom Michel, who was at a gas station near the crash site. ‘It was just coming straight down. I was screaming for everybody to run.  It looked like it was under full power and he just went straight in.’ Linda Dickhart, a nearby resident, said the heat and smoke were ‘so intense you couldn’t see anything.’ ‘I thought it was coming in my room,’ Dickhart said. ‘Oh my God, I thought it was coming through my roof.’

“At Pittsburgh International Airport, people who had been waiting to meet passengers from the flight were taken into a private area to meet with counselors. USAir also was offering counseling at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport….

The crash was the worst in the United States since Aug. 16, 1987, when a Northwest Airlines MD-80 went down while taking off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing 156 people.  A 4-year-old girl was the sole survivor….

“Jerry Johnson, a spokesman for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Renton, Wash., said the plane that went down was delivered to USAir in October 1987. Examination of the wreckage showed the engines worked properly until the plane hit the ground. The plane had enough fuel to reach the airport. There was no evidence of hijacking and no explosion before the crash, said Carl Vogt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Witnesses told investigators they saw no smoke and no parts drop from the plane.

“Meanwhile, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported today that a computer check of FAA records revealed numerous reports of minor corrosion detected throughout the plane’s 7-year history. Also, fuel from a central tank tended to go into a tank on the plane’s right side and throw it off balance. The problem was later fixed said the newspaper, which did not provide dates.
‘Records are going to be around forever. We’ve got to get to other things first,’ NTSB spokesman Michael Benson told the newspaper. He said he did not know whether the fuel problem is related to the crash.

“USAir Chairman Seth Schofield said the airline had ‘no reason to believe there was sabotage.’
Vogt said investigators are checking whether birds struck the plane, but there was no evidence that that’s what happened.

“The crew radioed controllers from six miles away on final approach for landing at the Pittsburgh airport. There was no indication before the crash, when the plane – about 6,000 feet high – apparently rolled to the left in an abnormal way, Vogt said.

“The plane dug a crater in a stand of trees and splintered into countless small pieces. Only its tail remained intact. ‘Usually when a plane crashes, there’s some large section left somewhere, but that didn’t happen in this case,’ said Jim Eichenlaub, Hopewell Township’s director of emergency services. ‘They’re all very small pieces.’ The amount of blood at the site and the possibility of contracting the AIDS virus forced workers to wear special suits and be decontaminated after leaving the site. (Indiana Gazette, PA. “Devastation Grim at Crash Scene.” 9-9-1994, p.1.)

 

NationMaster.com: “….The National Transportation Safety Board, after its longest investigation in history [5 years], determined that the crash was caused by a sudden swing of the plane’s rudder. The rudder movement was probably the result of a jam in a hydraulic valve that made the rudder go the opposite direction from the co-pilots’ command. The NTSB said a similar problem caused the March 3, 1991 crash of United Flight 585, which was also a Boeing 737….

 

“As a result of the crash of USAir Flight 427, Boeing redesigned the rudder system on 737s and Congress required airlines to do a better job dealing with families of crash victims.”

(NationMaster.com, Encyclopedia, USAir Flight 427.)

 

Adair: On January 15, 1997 Vice President Al Gore gave a speech to a conference on aviation safety and security.

 

As you know, the investigations into the crashes of Boeing 737s in Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh have not yet been closed. But those investigations have identified improvements that could help eliminate the chance of rudders playing a role in future accidents. These changes can and should be made without delay.

 

Boeing has developed modifications to the rudders of older 737s that will improve safety, and they are going to begin retrofitting those planes, largely at their own expense, without waiting for a government mandate. Under a schedule to be developed by the FAA, these improvements will be made in the next two years. This is a major action: it affects some 2,800 planes worldwide, 1,100 of them here in the United States.

 

“At a news conference later that day, Boeing officials announced the specifics. The company would modify every 737 rudder valve so it could not reverse. A limiter would be installed on the PCU[1] to prevent the rudder from going hardover.” [p. 181]

 

“At the NTSB’s urging, the FAA conducted an unprecedented study o the 737 rudder system. An independent panel of hydraulic engineers and flight control experts spent a year studying the valve, flying 737 simulators and analyzing extreme failures that were not fully explored in the Flight 427 investigation.

 

“In its final report, the panel agreed with the NTSB and warned that the 737 rudder system was susceptible to many failures and jams that could be catastrophic. The group recommended better training for 737 pilots and, in the long term, a complete redesign of the plane’s rudder system.

 

“As a result of the report, the FAA and Boeing announced in September 2000 that the unique valve-within a valve rudder system on all 737s would be replaced by a two-valve system, similar to the one used on other planes. The announcement marked a surprising and dramatic change for Boeing and the FAA. Both had insisted for years that the redesign was unnecessary.

 

“Boeing said it would pay the entire cost of the new rudder system, estimated to be more than $240 million. The company said the new system should be installed in all 737s by 2007.

 

“In the meantime, all 737s have been equipped with improved valves that cannot reverse. The planes also have better yaw damper couplers (the computers that command small adjustments to the rudder) and pressure limiters (devices that limit how far a rudder will move). Pilots have been alerted to the crossover point and have been trained to identify and recover from rudder problems.

 

“After years of complaints from the NTSB, the FAA mandated that airlines upgrade flight data recorders to take additional measurements such as rudder pedal position, a change that should make it easier for investigators to determine the cause of future crashes. Instead of the thirteen parameters recorded on the USAir plane, they now must have at least seventeen.

 

“Tom McSweeny, the FAA official who was criticized for being soft on Boeing, left the FAA in the fall of 2001. He is now director of international safety and regulatory affairs for Boeing.

 

“USAir changed its name to US Airways in early 1997 after former United Airlines head Stephen Wolf became chairman. One of Wolf’s first priorities was a new image that has helped erase the memories of the airline’s five crashes. US Airways repainted its fleet, announced plans to buy new Airbus planes (the airline said the 737 problems were not a factor in the decision), an improved amenities for frequent travelers….” (p. 208)  (Adair, Bill. The Mystery of Flight 427: Inside a Flight Investigation. Smithsonian 2002.)

 

 

Beitler: Passenger List from Flight 427, compiled from USAir, employers, relatives, news organizations.

Passengers:
DAVID GARBER, Westminster, Calif.
WALTER HEILIGENBERG, 56, Del Mar, Calif.
EDWIN VEGA, Bridgeport, Conn.
CHAD MORRIS, Wilmington, Del.
JOHNE BIGELOW-ABBOTT, Orlando, Fla.
ANI ARDHALDJIAN, Chicago.
NAROD ARDHALDJIAN, Chicago.
MARIA DICKERSON, 25, DeKalb, Illinois.
JOSEPH DUFFY, 28, Chicago.
THOMAS D. HARGER, Chicago.
JOAN LAHART, Lisle, Illinois.
ED MAHONEY, Countryside, Illinois.
DAN RUZICH, Des Plaines, Illinois.
SUSAN SCHWENKLER, Addison, Illinois.
JOEL THOMPSON, Oak Park, Illinois.
MICHAEL WILLIAMS, 28, DeKalb, Illinois.
GREG MORFORD, 40, West Des Moines, Ia.
ANTHONY RICH, Cumberland, Maine.
PAULA RICH, (pregnant wife), Cumberland, Maine.
DAVID HUXFORD, 54, Oakland, Maine.
PATRICIA OFFLEY, 46, New Bedford, Mass.
LARRY GRONDIN, 41, Nashua, N.H.
JOHN KUPCHUN, 52, Merrimack, N.H.
LAURIE BAER, 32, Ashville, N.Y.
MARY HAVLIN, New York City.
DAVID WHEELER, South Salem, N.Y.
TODD JOHNSON, Alliance, Oh.
RICK SCHELL, Brunswick, Oh.
WILLIAM AHER, Pittsburgh.
THOMAS ARRIGONI, McMurray, Pa.
MARSHALL BERKMAN, Pittsburgh.
HARRY BERNARD, Pittsburgh.
SCOTT BLAKE, McMurray, Pa.
RON BROWN, Trafford, Pa.
RONALD CALE, Allison Park, Pa.
DANIEL A. CLARK, 61, Hollidaysburg, Pa.
GUY CLEGG, 44, Masontown, Pa.
LAWRENCE COLE, Amity, Pa.
JOHN COOPER, Pittsburgh.
MICHAEL COSSEBOOM, Wexford, Pa.
TIMOTHY DAVIS, Zelienople, Pa.
KAREN DICKSON, Glenwillard, Pa.
JAMES ELLER, New Kensington, Pa.
DWIGHT EVANS, Tunkhannock, Pa.
ROBERT EVANS, Venetia, Pa.
MICHAEL FELGER, McKees Rocks, Pa.
LISA FERM, Pittsburgh.
CHARLES FIANTACA, Picture Rocks, Pa.
KEVIN C. FLAHERTY, 35, Cranberry.
RICHARD GARMHAUSEN, Pittsburgh.
JEFFREY GINGERRICH, Pittsburgh.
LEONARD GRASSO, 41, Monroeville, Pa.
GARY HAPACH, Pittsburgh.
CHARLES HARDOBEY, Pittsburgh.
STEVE HEINTZ, Mars, Pa.
JOY HENDERSON, Pittsburgh.
MELVIN HENRY, 36, Dubois, Pa.
SCOTT HOLDEN, 55, Pittsburgh.
WILL KABBERT, Pittsburgh.
DANIEL KAFCAS, Shaverstown, Pa.
THOMAS KINSEY, North Huntington, Pa.
BERNARD KOCH, Pittsburgh.
CAROLYN KWASNOSKI, Bethlehem, Pa.
DANIEL KWASNOSKI, Bethlehem, Pa.
GERALD R. LINDSTROM, 60, Fox Chapel, Pa.
DAVID LING, Pittsburgh.
KIRK D. LYNN, 26, Greensburg, Pa.
BRUCE MALENKE, 46, Uniontown, Pa.
ROBERT MARCINIAK, State College, Pa.
TIMOTHY McCOY, 27, Orbisonia, Pa.
TIM McILVRIED, Library, Pa.
CHARLES McNAMARA, Sewickley, Pa.
PAUL McSHERRY, Pittsburgh.
WILLIAM I. MENARCHECK, JR., 43, Hopwood, Pa.
DAVID MILRILOVICH, 38, Windber, Pa.
BRIAN NICHOLS, Nanticoke, Pa.
JEFF O’KEEFE, Downingtown, Pa.
WILLIAM PETERS, Canonsburg, Pa.
JOSE PONCE, McCandless Township, Pa.
EUGENE RAYKIN, Monroeville, Pa.
KEVIN RIMMELL, Carnegie, Pa.
EDWARD RYAN, Cheswick, Pa.
FRANK A. SANTAMARIA, 37, Pittsburgh.
ALAN SEFCIK, 43, North Franklin Township, Pa.
RICHARD SHILLINGER, Pittsburgh.
STEVEN SHORTLEY, Pittsburgh.
ERNEST SMATHERS, Wattsburg, Pa.
ANDREW SOLENSKY, 45, Johnstown, Pa.
JANET S. STAMOS, 40, Munhall, Pa.
THOMAS SZCZUR, 42, Johnstown, Pa.
JOCELYN P. TAYLOR, 35, Pittsburgh, Pa.
BERNIE VARISCO, Tarentum, Pa.
BERNARD WATERS, Pittsburgh.
EARL WEAVER III, 50, Upper St. Clair, Pa.
KATHLEEN WEAVER, Upper St. Clair, Pa.
BRYAN WEAVER, 16, Upper St. Clair, Pa.
LINDSEY WEAVER, 11, Upper St. Clair, Pa.
SCOTT WEAVER, 7, Upper St. Clair, Pa.
LEE WEAVER, Pittsburgh.
DONNA WHITE, 33, Pittsburgh.
EDWIN WILES, 50, Pittsburgh.
CURT YOUNG, Pittsburgh.
MICHELE ZISKA, Bridgeville, Pa.
LANCE SCHELHASS, 20, Corsica, S.D.
DANIEL AVERILL, Katy, Tx.
OVA NIMISHVIREDRA, Houston, Tx.
JOHN T. DICKENS, III, 47, Crozet, Va.
DAVID LAMANCA, 27, Roanoke, Va.
JOHN SPAHR, 49, Appomattox, Va.
RICHARD TALBOT, 61, Blacksburg, Va.
DEWITT WORRELL, Lexington, Va.
STEVE W. WYANT, 38, Charlottesville.
RANDALL DELLEFIELD, 37, Morgantown, W.V.
DENISE JENKINS, 28, Arthurdale, W.V.
JOSEPH KOON, 50, Parkersburg, W.V.
CHARLOTTE LANGAN, Morgantown, W.V.
WILLIAM T. LANGAN, Morgantown, W.V.
MANVILLE MAYFIELD, 68, Morgantown, W.V.
HOLMES WEBB, 52, Morgantown, W.V.
JACK WHITE, 55, St. Albans, W.V.
PAUL OLSON (hometown withheld).
SAM RAMASAMY, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Flight Crew:
Captain PETER GERMANO, 45, Moorestown, N.J.
First Officer CHARLES B. EMMETT, III, 38, Nassau Bay, Tx.
Flight Attendant STANLEY R. CANTY, 29, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Flight Attendant APRIL LYNN SLATER, 28, Irving, Tx.
Flight Attendant SARAH ELIZABETH SLOCUM-HAMLEY, 28, Chesapeake, Va.

 

(Beitler, Stu. “Passenger List from Flight 427.”)

 

Sources

 

Adair, Bill. The Mystery of Flight 427: Inside a Flight Investigation. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002.

 

Associated Press. “Devastation Grim at Crash Scene [US Air Flight 427].” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. 9-9-1994, p.1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=111993074

 

AVweb. “USAir 427: One Accident, Three Views,” 10-26-1997. Accessed at: http://www.avweb.com/news/safety/183027-1.html

 

Beitler, Stu. “Passenger List from Flight 427 [Aliquippa, PA 9-8-1994].” Accessed at:  http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/19137/aliquippa-pa-jetliner-crashes-sep-1994

 

Cobb, Roger W. and David M. Primo. Chapter 4, “The Crash of USAir Flight 427, pp. 60-79 in: The Plane Truth: Airline Crashes, the Media, and Transportation Policy. Brookings Institution Press, 2003.

 

Hubert, Ronan. “Crash of a Boeing 7370300 in Pittsburgh: 132 killed.” Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 2-27-2016 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/presentation/

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Uncontrolled Descent and Collision with Terrain, USAIR Flight 427, Boeing 737-300, N513AU, Near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1994 (NTSB-AAR-99/01. Washington, DC: NTSB, March 24, 1999, 370 pages. Accessed at: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1999/AAR9901.pdf

 

Sanders, D.E.A. (Chair), et al. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. GIRO, 2002, 261 pgs. Accessed 2-27-2016 at: https://www.actuaries.org.uk/documents/management-losses-arising-extreme-events

 

 

 

 

[1] Power Control Unit — hydraulic device that moves the rudder or another flight control. The rudder PCU on the 737 is about the size of an upright vacuum cleaner. (Adair 2002, p. 214.)

—  11  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.

—  11  The News, Frederick, MD. “11 dead in crash in Washington State.” 8-22-1994, p. 2.

—  11  Waterloo Courier, IA.  “Eleven die in fiery crash.” 8-23-1994, p. 2.

 

Narrative Information

 

Aug 22, AP: “Wenatchee, Wash. (AP) – A utility vehicle crossed a highway center line and slammed into a car packed with passengers, setting both vehicles on fire and killing all 11 people in them, authorities said.  Five children were among the victims of Sunday evening’s crash about two miles north of this central Washington city, the state patrol said

 

“A northbound Chevrolet Caprice sedan and a southbound Chevy Blazer crashed head-on in the northbound lanes, said patrol Lt. Bob Dale.  The fuel line on the Blazer apparently ruptured, and all the victims were severely burned in the ensuing fire, he said.

 

“Patrol Capt Thomas Robbins said there were no witnesses to the accident.  It wasn’t known how fast the vehicles were traveling.  A team of state patrol investigators from Bellevue was at the scene this morning.

 

“The victims in the car were the driver, his wife and their four children, ages 2 to 6, another woman and her child; and a fourth adult.

 

“The driver of the Blazer, Danny J. Adamson, 18, of Cashmere, died on arrival at Central Washington Hospital, as did one of the children in the car.  The other victims, including the lone passenger with Adamson, died at the scene.

 

“The weather was clear and dry at the time of the wreck on highway Alternate U.S. 97.”

(Assoc. Press. “11 dead in crash in Washington State.” The News, Frederick, MD, 8-22-1994, 2.)

 

Aug 23: “Wenatchee, Wash. — A Chevy Blazer crossed the center line of a highway and crashed into a sedan carrying a family returning from a vacation in Mexico, killing 11 people.  Five of the victims were children.  The collision ruptured the fuel line on the Blazer, spewing gasoline on both vehicles and incinerating the drivers and passengers, state police said.  No one survived the late Sunday night crash.

 

“Authorities did not know whether any of the victims were wearing seat belts. “They were all burned to death so you can’t tell. We couldn’t even tell whether they were male or female. It was really grisly,” said patrol Lt. Bob Dale.

 

“The Blazer was carrying two people; nine people, including five children ranging in age from 2 to 6, were in the four-door Chevy Caprice.”  (Waterloo Courier, IA.  “Eleven die in fiery crash.” 8-23-1994, 2.)

Sources

 

Associated Press. “11 dead in crash in Washington State.” The News, Frederick, MD. 8-22-1994, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/news/1994-08-22/page-2/

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

 

Waterloo Courier, IA. “Eleven die in fiery crash.” 8-23-1994, p. 2. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/waterloo-courier/1994-08-23/page-2/

 

 

 

–14  Bureau of Land Management. South Canyon Fire Investigation…, 8-17-1994, cover page.

–14  Butler. Fire Behavior…South Canyon Fire…Storm King Mountain, Colorado. USDA, 1998

–14  National Interagency Fire Center.  Fire Information – Wildland Fire Statistics.  2007.

 

Narrative Information

 

Butler: “Lightning ignited the South Canyon Fire on the afternoon of July 2, 1994. For the next 48 hours, the fire burned downslope in the leaves, twigs, and cured grasses covering the ground surface. By 1200 on July 4 the fire had burned approximately 3 acres. It continued to spread downslope through the day on July 5, covering approximately 50 acres by the end of the day. General fire activity consisted of low intensity downslope spread with intermittent flareups and short duration upslope runs in the fire’s interior. The fire remained active through the night covering approximately 127 acres by morning on July 6.

 

“On July 6 the fire continued to burn downslope through the surface fuels. At approximately 1520 a dry cold front passed over the area. Winds in the bottom of the drainage immediately west of the ignition point were estimated to be from the south (up-canyon) at 30 to 45 miles per hour. About 1555 several upslope fire runs occurred in the grass and conifers on the west-facing slope near the southwest corner of the fire’s interior. Shortly after the crown fire runs, witnesses observed fire in the bottom of the drainage, directly west of the ridgetop ignition point. Pushed by the up-canyon winds, the fire in the drainage spread rapidly north. As this fire spread north and east, fuel, slope, and wind conditions combined to result in sustained fire spread through the live green Gambel oak canopy. The fire began burning as a high-intensity fast-moving continuous front. We estimate that the fire moved north up the drainage at about 3 feet per second. Steep slopes and strong west winds triggered frequent upslope (eastward) fire runs toward the top of the ridge. These upslope runs spread at 6 to 9 feet per second. A short time later the fire overran and killed 14 firefighters.”

 

(Butler, Bret W., et al. Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado (Research Paper RMRS-RP-9). Ogden, UT: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service, USDA, Sep 1998, “Executive Summary.”)

 

Butler: “Tragically, 14 firefighters died during the fire run on the afternoon of July 6, 1994, on the South Canyon Fire….

 

Kathi Beck

Tami Bickett

Scott Blecha

Levi Brinkley

Robert Browning

Doug Dunbar

Terri Hagen

Bonnie Holtby

Rob Johnson

Jon Kelso

Don Mackey

Roger Roth

James Thrash

Richard Tyler.”  (Butler, et al. 1998, Dedication page.)

 

Sources

 

Bureau of Land Management. South Canyon Fire Investigation of the 14 fatalities that occurred on July 6, 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. 8-17-1994. Accessed 8-4-2012 at: http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/S_Canyon_AIReport_1994.pdf

 

Butler, Bret W., et al. Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado (Research Paper RMRS-RP-9). Ogden, UT: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service, USDA, Sep 1998. Accessed 8-4-2012: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp009.pdf

 

National Interagency Fire Center. Fire Information – Wildland Fire Statistics. Boise, ID, NIFC, 2007. Accessed at: http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/historical_stats.htm

 

 

 

 

 

–34-37  Blanchard tally based on tally of State breakouts below.

—     33  NWS. Tropical Storm Alberto Heavy Rains and Flooding, [GA, AL, FL], July 1994, p.2.

—     33  Stamey. “Flooding in southeastern [US] from Tropical Storm Alberto, July 1994,” p.33.[1]

—     32  NCDC (Lott and Ross). 1994 Weather in the Southeast…July Flooding. 10-12-1994, p8.

—     30  Rappaport. Preliminary Report. Tropical Storm Alberto, 30 June – 7 July 1994. P. 1.

 

Alabama         (      2)

— 2  NWS. Tropical Storm Alberto Heavy Rains and Flooding, [GA, AL, FL], July 1994, p. 2.

— 2  Rappaport (NHC). Preliminary Report. Tropical Storm Alberto, 30 June – 7 July 1994. P.1.

— 1  July 8. AP. “Crews Go to Rescue of Georgia…Victims.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, 7-8-1994, 12.

— 0  NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.[2]

 

Georgia          (32-35)[3]

—  50  USFA/FEMA. Search and Rescue Ops. in Georgia During Major Floods…1994, 2.[4]

—  35  USFA/FEMA. Search and Rescue Ops. in California During Flooding 1995. 1996, p2.[5]

—  33  Golden Ink. Our Georgia History. “Tropical Storm Alberto.”[6] Accessed 5-13-2014.

—  32  CDC. “Flood-Related Mortality–Georgia, July 4-14, 1994.” MMWR, 7-29-1994, p526.[7]

–30 (Drowning)          –2 (Vehicular accidents)

—  31  NWS. Tropical Storm Alberto Heavy Rains and Flooding, [GA, AL, FL], July 1994, p. 2.

—  31  AP (Jackie Hallifax). “Tropical Storm Slams Florida…” Seattle Times, 8-16-1994.

—  30  Blanchard tally of county breakouts below.

—  30  NCDC (Lott and Ross). 1994 Weather…July Flooding. 1994, p. 8.

—  28  AP. “Flood moves on Ga. town.” Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH. 7-12-1994, 3.

—  28  AP, Albany. “Clinton Tours Flooded Georgia, Offers Aid…” Seattle Times, 7-13-1994.

–~28  AP. “Sandbags…worries rise with Georgia floodwaters.” Alton Telegraph, IL, 8-31-1994.

—  28  Rappaport (NHC). Preliminary Report. Tropical Storm Alberto, 30 June–7 July 1994. P1.

—    0  National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database.[8]

Breakout by Counties:

—  2  Bibb Co., Rocky Creek, July 5. Drownings; pickup swept away, pinned, man, woman.[9]

—  1  DeKalb County, July 5. Vehicular crash on rain-slicked road; male, 54.[10]

—  5  Dougherty County, Albany, Flint River. Drownings; refused “to leave when ordered.”[11]

—  2     “               Albany, Flint Riv., July 7. Drowning; car goes in river; boys, 2, 4.[12]

—  1  Fayette County, July 5. Drowning in creek while trying to secure a bridge; male, 40.[13]

—  2  Henry County, Tuoluga River. Drownings, rafting; teenage bodies found in debris pile.[14]

—  1  Houston County, near Elberta, found July 8. Drowning; male.[15]

—  1  Rockdale County, July 5. Drowning while walking dog; teen-age girl.[16]

—  2  Spaulding County. USFA. Search and Rescue Operations in Georgia…Floods…1994, 4.

–1 Spaulding Co., Griffin, July 5. Lost control of car at flooded intersection; female, 31.[17]

–15  Sumter County. AP (Elliott Minor). “As River Rises…” Seattle Times, 7-12-1994.[18]

–15  Sumter County. CDC.[19]

–15  Sumter County. (USFA. SAR Ops in GA, p. 10.)[20]

–13  Sumter County. Drownings; “washed away in their cars.”

—  2       “     Drownings; “trapped in a house on the uphill side of a railroad grade.”[21]

–12  Sumter County, Americus.[22]

—  9  Sumter County, Americus.[23]

—  1  Sumter County, Americus, found July 9. Drowning, teen-ager.[24]

 

CDC Table 1. “Flood-related deaths, by date of death, age and sex of decedent, and circumstances of death – Georgia, July 4-14, 1994.[25]

 

Date found      Age (yrs)         Sex      Circumstances of death

 

July 5              40                    M         Swept into creek while trying to repair bridge

54                    M         Lost control of vehicle on wet roadway

31                    F          Drove onto washed-out road

24                    F          Pickup truck submerged in drain ditch

July 6              60                    F          Car swept into flooded creek

84                    M         Washed out of mobile home

35                    M         Pickup truck swept off road into flooded creek

8                    M         Pickup truck swept off road into flooded creek

16                    M         Pickup truck swept off road into flooded creek

42                    M         Swept out of car

40                    M         Tractor-trailer swept off road into flooded creek

12                    M         Tractor-trailer swept off road into flooded creek

28                    F          Swept out of car onto flooded road

20                    F          Swept out of car onto flooded road

67                    F          Swept away by swiftly moving waters

17                    M         Boat swept into flooded creek[26]

40                    M         Car swept off road into flooded creek

18                    M         Swept off inner tube into flooded creek

32                    M         Swept into flooded creek

35                    M         Swept out of car while in parking lot

16                    F          Swept away trying to rescue a dog

35                    M         Swept out of pickup truck onto flooded road

July 7                4                    M         Swept out of car into flooded river

2                    M         Swept out of car into flooded river

Unknown                    M         Unknown

July 8              62                    M         Swept out of car as bridge washed out[27]

July 9              28                    F          Swept out of car onto flooded road

July 10              3                    M         Swept out of car onto flooded road

 

Narrative Information

 

CDC: “On July 3, 1994, tropical storm Alberto struck the Florida panhandle with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour. On July 4, as the center of the storm deteriorated over Columbus, Georgia, a cold front pushed through Alabama and southwestern Georgia from the northwest, producing warm, moist air and unstable weather resulting in heavy, prolonged thunderstorms. Rainfall totals in some areas of south central Georgia were 12-15 inches during a 24-hour period; Americus, Georgia, recorded 24 inches on July 6 (W. Zaleski, National Weather Service, personal communication, 1994). Several rivers, cresting up to 20 feet above flood stage, inundated major portions of the state. Flood waters forced closure of 175 roads in 30 counties, and more than 100 dams and recreational watersheds were either damaged or destroyed. Forty-three (27%) of Georgia’s 159 counties were declared federal disaster areas, and seven additional counties were declared state disaster areas. This report summarizes preliminary findings of surveillance for deaths associated with the floods.” (CDC. “Flood-Related Mortality – Georgia, July 4-14, 1994.” MMWR, Vol. 43, No. 29, 7-29-1994, p. 526.)

 

Lott and Ross: “Severe flooding struck the southwest half of Georgia during the early to middle portion of July. The flooding was the result of the slow-moving, meandering remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto. Alberto entered the U.S. over the panhandle of Florida near Fort Walton Beach with maximum sustained winds of around 65 MPH… The highest storm surge was near Destin, FL with a height of about 5 feet. The storm moved slowly northward into southeast Alabama, and then into west-central Georgia. It then slowed to a crawl, even drifting southward and then westward for a time, producing rainfall amounts that exceeded 10 inches in many locations, with over 20 inches in a few spots…. As there were no reported tornadoes or significant wind damage, the severe damage was solely the result of extremely heavy rainfall.

 

“Flooding also affected some parts of the Florida panhandle and southeast Alabama. The flooding severely damaged or destroyed many homes, businesses, farms, highways, dams, and bridges, with damage estimates for the three affected states now placed at between $750 million and $1 billion….

 

“Georgia by some accounts experienced its worst flooding in modern times. An estimated 1700 roads and 600 bridges were forced out of service, and several towns were largely under water. Over 40,000 people were evacuated due to the rising waters, and about 12,000 homes and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged by the flooding. Thirty people were killed in Georgia and 2 were killed in Alabama–many of these vehicle-related.  Approximately 11,500 Georgians applied for federal disaster assistance, as 55 counties in Georgia were declared disaster areas. Also, 13 counties in Florida and 10 counties in Alabama were declared disaster areas…$60 million in federal aid was approved for the flood-damaged areas….

 

“In Georgia alone, the flood waters covered an area the size of Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined. In Georgia, Alabama, and Florida combined, over 900,000 acres were under water at one time. Also, 300,000 Georgia residents were left without safe drinking water for periods ranging up to 3 weeks…. Over 100 dams were breached in Georgia, and Interstate 75 was covered with over 4 feet of water in places, forcing its closure for 60 hours. In Albany GA, the east and west parts of town were separated by the closing of 4 bridges for over a week.  The Flint River at Albany overflowed as far as 3 miles from its normal river edge. Numerous coffins were forced from their cemetery plots by the water pressure….

 

“Americus GA recorded the heaviest amount [or rainfall] with 21.10 inches for the 24-hour period ending at 7 AM on July 6th. This far exceeded the estimated 100-year return period 24-hour rainfall of about 8.50 inches for this area. In fact, 15 of the deaths in Georgia occurred in Americus….”  (Lott and Ross, 1994 Flooding, NCDC)

 

NCDC: “Remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto produced 23.00 to 29.00 inches of rain county wide. Americus received 27.85 inches between the 3rd and 7th of July, and Plains received 22.80 inches in the same time frame. Numerous roads were inundated with floodwater county-wide. In Leslie, standing water covered numerous roads. On Lake Corinth, a 17-year-old male died when his boat capsized while he was trying to restring telephone lines which had fallen. In Plains, heavy rains inundated several homes and businesses with flood waters. Three males died when their tractor-trailer was washed away on U.S Highway 280. In Americus, flood waters threatened 21,000 acres of peanuts and a lesser amount of cotton and corn. Eleven people were killed after floodwaters inundated streets, homes and businesses. Nine people died after their cars were washed off flooded roads. One fatality occurred after water crushed a home on Lake Jackson, and another occurred when flood waters washed away a mobile home.”  (NCDC/NOAA.  Event Record Details, Flood, Georgia, 05 Jul 1994.)

 

NCEP, NOAA: “…As an upper cyclone across the south central Gulf moved away into the southwest Gulf, outflow increased over the system, which became a tropical storm on the evening of the 1st.  As it made landfall near Destin, Florida on the 3rd, it was a strong tropical storm as an eye was attempting to develop.  By the evening of the 3rd, the cyclone weakened back into a tropical depression as it moved into southeast Alabama. Steering currents weakened, and Alberto slowed to a crawl across eastern Alabama and western Georgia for a
two day period.  Torrential rains fell near the center of the still well-defined center.  It eventually drifted off to the west-southwest, devolving into an open trough on the 7th….” (National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NOAA. Tropical Storm Alberto – June 30-July 8, 1994. No date.)

 

NWS, NOAA: “A decaying tropical system, previously known as Tropical Storm Alberto, produced torrential rainfall which resulted in some of the worst flooding ever observed across portions of the States of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida during July 1994. Alberto, the 1994 Atlantic Hurricane Season’s first named tropical system, came ashore near the Florida Panhandle town of Destin at about 1500 Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) on July 3. The winds associated with the tropical storm caused only minor damage and no casualties, as maximum sustained winds of around 65 mph (55 knots) were briefly observed at the time of landfall. The highest storm surge was estimated at 5 feet near the point of landfall (Destin, Florida). No reports of tornadoes were confirmed in association with Alberto or its remnants.

 

“As the tropical storm’s winds rapidly diminished, attention was quickly and appropriately turned to the threat of heavy rainfall associated with the deep tropical moisture being transported by the remnants of Alberto. Indeed, over the course of the 4 days following landfall, the forward motion of the remnants of Alberto slowed and halted, only to loop back over the same area already traversed before finally dissipating. It was this meandering motion which resulted in record-breaking rainfall, including a storm total of over 27 inches at Americus, Georgia, more than 21 inches of which fell in a 24-hour period. The torrential rainfall led to exceptional flooding across central and western Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Five river basins were particularly hard hit…(1) the Flint River Basin in western Georgia, (2) the Ocmulgee River Basin in central Georgia, (3) the Chattahoochee River Basin along the Georgia-Alabama state line, (4) the Choctawhatchee River Basin in Alabama, and (5) the Apalachicola River Basin in Florida….

 

“The flooding took a significant toll on human life, as a total of 33 persons perished. Of that total, 31 deaths occurred in Georgia, while the other 2 occurred in Alabama. Many of the fatalities, as is typical with flood events, occurred as a result of flash flooding; and most occurred in vehicles. In addition, approximately 50,000 people were forced from their homes due to the flooding. More than 18,000 dwellings were damaged or destroyed by the floods, and nearly 12,000 people applied for emergency housing. In Macon, Georgia, the fresh water supply to nearly 160,000 people was disrupted when the water treatment plant, located along the banks of the Ocmulgee River, was flooded. Some residences were without fresh water for as long as 19 days. In addition, thousands of people and pieces of equipment were engaged in various flood-fighting efforts throughout the three-state area impacted by the flooding. Dozens of Federal, state, and local government agencies, private organizations, as well as various volunteer groups, were heavily involved in the massive mobilization of resources….” (NWS/NOAA. Natural Disaster Survey Reports. “Chapter 1. Background and Overview of the Event [Tropical Storm Alberto].” 11-3-2011 modification.)

 

Stamey abstract: “In July 1994, parts of central and southwestern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the western panhandle of Florida were devastated by floods resulting from rainfall produced by Tropical Storm Alberto. Entire communities were inundated by flood waters as numerous streams reached peak stages and discharges far greater than previous floods in the Flint, Ocmulgee, and Choctawhatchee River basins. The flooding resulted in 33 deaths in towns and small communities along or near the overflowing streams. President Clinton declared 78 counties as Federal disaster areas: 55 in Georgia, 10 in Alabama, and 13 in Florida. The Flint River and Ocmulgee River basins in Georgia experienced floods that exceeded the 100-year recurrence interval discharge along almost their entire lengths. Travel was disrupted as railroad and highway bridges and culverts were overtopped and, in many cases, washed out. Total flood damages to public and private property were estimated at nearly $1 billion dollars….” (p. 33.)

 

USFA/FEMA: “During a three-week span in July 1994, the state of Georgia sustained its worst damage ever as the result of flooding. In addition to billions of dollars of property loss, more than 50 lives were lost, and thousands of homeowners were displaced for several weeks. Municipal services in several communities were severely disrupted, as rivers cut communities into several pieces and water supplies were contaminated. The flood was the direct result of the stalled Hurricane Alberto, which was later downgraded to a tropical storm. The storm stalled on-shore for more than a week, with its low center hanging over the middle of the state, between Albany and Macon.”  (USFA. Search and Rescue Ops. in GA During Major Floods. 1996, p.1)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press (Palmetto, GA). “6 dead, hundreds evacuated in Georgia floods.” New Mexican, Santa Fe, 7-6-1994, A6. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=108557572&sterm

 

Associated Press (Elliott Minor, Bainbridge, Ga.). “As River Rises, Impact of Flood in Georgia is Starting to Sink In.” ” Seattle Times, 7-12-1994. Accessed 5-28-2014 at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940713&slug=1920193

 

Associated Press, Joan Kirchner, Albany, Ga. “Breach in dam spills more water into river.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. 7-10-1994, p. A-4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=110356570&sterm=tropical+storm

 

Associated Press, Albany, Ga. “Clinton Tours Flooded Georgia, Offers Aid — $60 Million in Relief Targeted For 3 States.” Seattle Times, 7-13-1994. Accessed 5-28-2014 at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940713&slug=1920188

 

Associated Press (Albany, Ga.). “Crews Go to Rescue of Georgia Flood Victims.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 7-8-1994, p. 12. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=83131336&sterm=tropical+storm

 

Associated Press (Americus, Ga.). “Death toll in Georgia flooding is now 15.” Daily Republican-Register, Mt. Carmel, IL, 7-7-1994, p. 9.

 

Associated Press (Elliott Minor, Americus, GA). “Death toll rises to 18 in Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. 7-7-1994, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=111992069&sterm=tropical+storm

 

Associated Press (Bainbridge, Ga.). “Flood moves on Ga. town.” Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH. 7-12-1994, 3. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=30053629&sterm

 

Associated Press (Joan Kirchner, Albany, Ga.). “Flood toll mounts in South; 20 dead by Friday as more storms threaten.” Sandusky Register, OH. 7-9-1994. p. A-3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=229015282&sterm=tropical+storm

 

Associated Press (Sharon Cohen, Americus, Ga.). “Flooded Georgia town now must cope with losses.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. 7-19-1994, p. A-4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=110356570&sterm=tropical+storm

 

Associated Press (Palmetto, Ga.). “Rains force flight.” Joplin Globe, MO, 7-6-1994, p. 9A. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=230486166&sterm=tropical+storm

 

Associated Press. “Rain wrecks havoc in state of Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA, 70601994, p. 6. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=110356524&sterm

 

Associated Press (Bainbridge, Ga.). “Sandbags and worries rise with Georgia floodwaters.” Alton Telegraph, IL, 8-31-1994. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=115227645&sterm

 

Associated Press (Macon, Ga.). “Storm leaves 13 dead.” Daily Times, Farmington, NM, 7-7-1994, A2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=209171779&sterm=tropical

 

Associated Press (Jackie Hallifax, Tallahassee, Fla.). “Tropical Storm Slams Florida – Rains May Bring More Flooding to Georgia.” Seattle Times, 8-16-1994. Accessed 5-28-2014 at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940816&slug=1925647

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Flood-Related Mortality – Georgia, July 4-14, 1994.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), Vol. 43, No. 29, 7-29-1994, pp. 526-530. Accessed 5-28-2014 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032058.htm

 

Golden Ink. Our Georgia History. “Tropical Storm Alberto.” Accessed 5-13-2014 at: http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/ogh/Tropical_Storm_Alberto

 

Macon Telegraph (Mara Shalhoup). “Americus makes most of disaster.” 1999. Accessed 5-29-2014 at: http://www.macon-bibb.com/Sierra/flood94/americus0708.htm

 

National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NOAA. Tropical Storm Alberto – June 30-July 8, 1994. No date. Accessed 5-13-2014: http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/alberto1994.html

 

National Climatic Data Center (Neal Lott and Tom Ross), NOAA. 1994 Weather in the Southeast – The February Ice Storm and the July Flooding (Technical Report 94-03). Asheville, NC:  NCDC, NOAA, Department of Commerce, October 12, 1994, 23 pages. Accessed at:  http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/techrpts/tr9403/tr9403.pdf

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Search Results for All Counties in Georgia. All Event Types between 07/04/1994 and 07/15/1994. Accessed 5-28-2014 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=ALL&beginDate_mm=07&beginDate_dd=04&beginDate_yyyy=1994&endDate_mm=07&endDate_dd=15&endDate_yyyy=1994&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=13%2CGEORGIA

 

National Weather Service, NOAA. Natural Disaster Survey Reports. “Chapter 1. Background and Overview of the Event [Tropical Storm Alberto].” Silver Spring, MD: Office of Hydrologic Development, NWS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce. 11-3-2011 modification. Accessed 5-13-2014 at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/surveys/alberto/chapter1.htm

 

National Weather Service, NOAA. Tropical Storm Alberto Heavy Rains and Flooding, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, July 1994 (Natural Disaster Survey Report). Silver Spring, MD: NWS, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. December 1995. Accessed 5-28-1994 at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CZIC-qc945-t76-1995/html/CZIC-qc945-t76-1995.htm

 

Rappaport, Edward N. Preliminary Report. Tropical Storm Alberto, 30 June – 7 July 1994. Miami, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 12-7-1994 update. Accessed 5-28-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1994-prelim/alberto/prelim01.gif

 

Stamey, Timothy C. (USGS). “Flooding in southeastern United States from Tropical Storm Alberto, July 1994,” pp. 33-38 in Destructive Water: Water-Caused Natural Disasters, their Abatement and Control (Proceedings of the Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment, Anaheim, CA, June 24-28, 1996); edited by George H. Leavesley (USGS), et al. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK: International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS Pub. No. 239), 1997. Google digitized. Accessed 9-25-2016 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=8nbLGQw5fckC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

 

United States Fire Administration, FEMA. Search and Rescue Operations in California During Flooding January to March, 1995.  Emmitsburg, MD:  USFA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1996. Accessed at: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-163e.pdf

 

United States Fire Administration. Search and Rescue Operations in Georgia During Major Floods July 1994 (Technical Rescue Incident Report). Emmitsburg, MD: USFA/FEMA, 1996.  Accessed at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-163d.pdf

 

Additional Reading:

 

Macon Telegraph, Tallahassee Democrat, and Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Deluge!: Flood of ’94. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, 1994.

 

[1] In: Destructive Water: Water-Caused Natural Disasters, their Abatement and Control (Proceedings of the Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment in Anaheim, CA, June 24-28, 1996).

[2] Search Results for All Counties in Alabama. All

[3] We know from the CDC that there were at least 32 deaths. We have one source citing 33 and another 35. There were still several missing people in reports extending into August. It is conceivable that there were additional deaths.

[4] “During a three-week span in July 1994, the state of Georgia sustained its worst damage ever as the result of flooding. In addition to billions of dollars of property loss, more than 50 lives were lost, and thousands of homeowners were displaced for several weeks.” We are not using this figure, however, in that it significantly exceeds all other sources. The document narrative notes 2 fatalities in Spalding Co., 2 (Henry) 5 in Albany (Dougherty Co.) and 15 in Americus (Sumter Co.), for a total of 24. It does not note the 2 in Bibb, 1 in DeKalb, 1 in Fayette, 1 in Houston, or 1 in Rockdale. If these were added the total would be 30. It is possible that the figure of 50 is a typo and was meant to be 30.

[5] “There were six deaths during the flood of January 1995 in California – contrasted with comparable rainfall in Georgia during a like period (about eight days in July of 1994) that lead to 35 deaths.”

[6] “By the time the storm and the flooding were over a total of 33 Georgians were dead.” No source citations.

[7] “To assess mortality associated with flooding, CDC obtained epidemiologic information from medical examiners and coroners (ME/Cs) in 48 of the 50 counties declared disaster areas and in two counties adjacent to disaster areas. ME/Cs were asked about the number of deaths in their counties attributable to flooding during July 4-14 and for information about the circumstances of each death. A flood-related death was defined as a death that resulted from the floods during July 4-14, as determined by the ME/C in each county.”

[8] Search Results for All Counties in Georgia. All Available Event Types between 07/04/1994 and 07/15/1994.

[9] “A man and a woman died in Bibb County when the swollen Rocky Creek swept away their pickup and pinned it under a bridge abutment. Witnesses said there may have been a child in the truck.” (Associated Press. “Rain wrecks havoc in state of Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA, 7-6-1994, p. 6.)

[10] Associated Press. “Rain wrecks havoc in state of Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA, 7-6-1994, p. 6. The age is from the CDC which appears to be in reference to this death “Lost control of vehicle on wet roadway.”

[11] USFA/FEMA. Search and Rescue Operations in Georgia During Major Floods July 1994. p. 8.

[12] AP (Albany, Ga.). “Crews Go to Rescue of Georgia Flood Victims.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 7-8-1994, p. 12. We have pieced together information from this article and from the CDC report.

[13] CDC; Associated Press. “Rain wrecks havoc in state of Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA, 7-6-1994, p. 6.

[14] USFA/FEMA. Search and Rescue Operations in Georgia During Major Floods July 1994. p. 4.

[15] AP (Albany, Ga.). “Crews Go to Rescue of Georgia Flood Victims.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 7-8-1994, p. 12.

[16] Associated Press. “Rain wrecks havoc in state of Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA, 7-6-1994, p. 6.

[17] Victim identified as Teresa Beyah. AP (Palmetto, GA). “Rains force flight.” Joplin Globe, MO, 7-6-1994, p. 9A.

[18] “…in Americus, Fire Chief Steve Moreno attributed 15 of the deaths to a series of unregulated earthen dams that broke last week. ‘The torrent of water coming down from these broken dams completely overran our creeks and created walls of water coming down right through town…It really caught everyone unexpectedly…We had people walking, on bridges, in cars on roads, and these roaring torrents just swept them all away. It was horrible.’”

[19] “…local officials attributed approximately 50% of these deaths to the rupture of seven to nine small earthen dams in the county. Waters from the dams inundated surrounding creeks, sweeping away many…who died.”

[20] AP report writes that “Seven drowning victims – all adults – were brought into the Sumter County Regional Hospital in Americus on Wednesday [July 6]. The victims were trapped in cars or homes by floodwaters or mud slides, authorities said.” (AP (Macon, Ga.). “Storm leaves 13 dead.” Daily Times, Farmington, NM, 7-7-1994, A2.

[21] USFA/FEMA. Search and Rescue Operations in Georgia During Major Floods July 1994. p. 10.

[22] “The death toll from the floods in south and central Georgia rose with the discovery of five more bodies in Americus. Seven people were swallowed by floodwaters Wednesday [July 6] near the town, which got 23 inches of rain within 24 hours. Four other people were missing..” (AP, Elliott Minor, Americus, Ga. “Death toll rises to 18 in Georgia.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. 7-7-1994, p. 1.) According to Macon Telegraph story by Mara Shalhoup (“Americus makes most of disaster.”), 14 of the town’s 15 flood victims died on July 6.

[23]  “Nine of he dead were found in Americus in southeast Georgia. Seven bodies were found Wednesday [July 6], and two more were found overnight, Sumter County Coroner Lynwood McClung said today. He said five other people were missing…In the town,, helpless bystanders watched a screaming woman clutching a baby slip into the rumbling Town Creek. The bridge had just washed out, and the woman stood atop her car as it slowly slid down the bank. The woman and her child were among the missing…a man in [a] car also was swept away.” (AP (Americus, Ga.). “Death toll in Georgia flooding is now 15.” Daily Republican-Register, Mt. Carmel, IL, 7-7-1994, p. 9.)

[24] “The state’s death toll from the six-day deluge reached 24 Saturday [July 9] with the discovery of a teen-ager’s body in Americus, Ga.” (AP, Joan Kirchner, Albany, Ga. “Breach in dam spills more water into river.” Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. 7-10-1994, p. A-4.)

[25] Note:  “Because some decedents were not found until after high waters subsided, it was sometimes difficult to verify the exact date and time of death; therefore, all dates reflect the day on which the decedent was found.”

[26] Probably a reference to an Americus, GA death in that this is the only note of a death of a 17-year-old. AP article (Sharon Cohen, Americus, Ga.) notes the death of a 17-year-old varsity football player in Americus.

[27] Possibly a reference to William Miller of Tifton. An AP article (Joan Kirchner, Albany, Ga.), in a July 9 paper writes that his body, missing since Tuesday [July 5] “was found today.” “He and his wife…were driving their on a state road when their car was swept into the Towaliga River, 150 miles north of Albany. Mrs. Miller clung to a tree for nine hours until she was rescued, but her husband vanished in the roiling waterway.”

—  14  AP. “Carnage on Texas highways…31 dead…” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-4-1994, 13.

—  14  AP. “July 3…Tenth Anniversary…46 Died.” Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX, 7-3-2004.

—  14  Kerrville Daily Times, TX. “Accidents take toll on Texas highways.” 7-5-1994, p. 1.

—  14  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.

—  14  New York Times. “Crashes Kill 37 in Texas in Single Day.” 7-4-1994.

 

Narrative Information

 

July 4, AP: “Weatherford, Texas (AP) – In one of the bloodiest days ever on Texas highways, 31 people died in three separate crashes Sunday, including 14 people killed when a tractor-trailer rear-ended a family’s van…..

 

“In the Weatherford crash, the 18-wheeler hit the van with such force that its front bumper reached the van’s front seat, said Weatherford Fire Chief George Teague.  The impact launched the wreckage 600 feet down Interstate 20, throwing a passenger from the van and leaving a trail of clothing and twisted metal.  The ejected van passenger also died.  At least five were injured, including the trucker, the van driver, and a 22-year-old woman and two children.

 

“The family was on its way from Los Angeles to Mississippi for a family gathering.

 

“The driver, Claudia Funches of Los Angeles, told police she’d pulled to the side of the highway

when the 1977 Dodge van with California plates stalled.  She got it started, pulled back into the

travel lane and was hit from behind about 9:30 a.m.

 

“”The impact was so great that the van was knocked 600 feet from the point where it was struck and then exploded into flames,” Cox said [spokesman, State Dept. of Public Safety].

 

“Traffic was diverted as firefighters, state troopers and others worked to clear the scene, about 30 miles west of Fort Worth.

 

“The badly burned bodies of 13 people, mostly children, were believed still inside the van Sunday afternoon, Cox said. The van was to be towed to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office, Cox said.

 

“Funches, 47, was in critical condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Two children and a 22-year-old woman were taken to other hospitals.  One child was in good condition, while the other’s condition was unknown.  The 22-year-old was in stable condition. The truck driver was in good condition….” (Associated Press. “Carnage on Texas highways leaves 31 dead in three separate accidents.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-4-1994, 13.)

 

July 4, NYT: “….Weatherford, a city of 15,000 people about 55 miles west of Dallas…”  (New York Times. “Crashes Kill 37 in Texas in Single Day.” 7-4-1994.)

 

July 3, 2004, AP: “Dallas (AP) — Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Cox said… more than 60 [63] people… died on Texas highways over the July Fourth weekend….

 

“….carelessness appears to have played a major role in all three of the big Sunday crashes, authorities said.  The elements were tragically similar.  Vehicles crowded with families were making hours-long trips without using seat belts….

 

“In the Weatherford accident, a California woman driving with a suspended license pulled a van from a shoulder of the highway onto the interstate, apparently not seeing an oncoming 18-wheeler, Cox said….”  (Kerrville Daily Times, TX. “Accidents take toll on Texas highways.” 7-5-1994, 1.)

 

“Dallas (AP) — The moment is seared in Mike Scrivner’s mind. The screams of children trapped in their burning van. The helpless feeling of a firefighter without water or a fire truck.  The retired Fort Worth fireman was off duty on July 3, 1994, when he drove by the wreckage of a van that had burst into flames after it was hit by a tractor-trailer. Scrivner stopped, broke the van’s windshield and pulled out the driver, her 22-year-old daughter and two 4-year-old boys. But he couldn’t save the other two adults and 12 children under the age of 13.  That crash on Interstate 20 near Weatherford was one of several that happened on the deadliest day for motorists in Texas history. In all, 46 people died that day.  “It was a bunch of kids, and I wasn’t equipped to help them,” Scrivner said in Friday’s online edition of The Dallas Morning News. “I didn’t have my fire crew, no water and no fire truck. The rest of them were trapped in there. You could hear those kids hollering and screaming.”

 

“Three separate crashes in less than six hours on that day took the lives of 31 people. Before that, the deadliest traffic day was Christmas Eve 1975 when 42 people died….

 

“Claudia Funches, 47, was driving her family from California to her hometown of Vicksburg, Miss., for a family reunion, even though her license had been revoked for driving violations a decade earlier.  After the van’s shock absorbers gave out under the weight of 18 people and their luggage, Funches tried to drive along the shoulder to the next exit. When speed bumps made that difficult, she moved back onto the highway and was hit by the tractor-trailer.  The impact pushed the van 600 feet and ruptured its fuel tank, sparking the blaze.” (AP. “July 3 Marks Tenth Anniversary of Texas’ Deadliest Traffic Day…” Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX, 7-3-2004.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Carnage on Texas highways leaves 31 dead in three separate accidents.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-4-1994, 13. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/hutchinson-news/1994-07-04/page-13/

 

Associated Press. “July 3 Marks Tenth Anniversary of Texas’ Deadliest Traffic Day, 46 Died.” Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX. 7-3-2004. Accessed at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1164835/posts

 

Kerrville Daily Times, TX. “Accidents take toll on Texas highways.” 7-5-1994, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/kerrville-daily-times/1994-07-05/page-1/

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

 

New York Times. “Crashes Kill 37 in Texas in Single Day.” 7-4-1994. Accessed 1-30-2012 at:  http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/04/us/crashes-kill-37-in-texas-in-single-day.html

 

— 37  Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas DC-9 in Charlotte: 37 killed.”

— 37  Cohn. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of [NC]. Chap. 16, “The Crash of Flight 1016.” p159.

— 37  NTSB. “Flight into Terrain during Missed Approach USAir 1016, DC-9-31, N954VJ.”

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB Executive Summary: “On July 2, 1994, about 1843 eastern daylight time, a Douglas DC-9-31, N954VJ, operated by USAir, Inc., as flight 1016, collided with trees and a private residence near the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, shortly after the flightcrew executed a missed approach from the instrument landing system approach to runway 98R. The captain, first officer, one flight attendant, and one passenger received minor injuries. Two flight attendants and 14 passengers sustained serious injuries. The remaining 37 passengers received fatal injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of-the accident, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. Flight 9096 was being conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Columbia, South Carolina, to Charlotte.

 

“Probable Cause.   The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable causes of the accident were: 1) the flightcrew’s decision to continue an approach into severe convective activity that was conducive to a microburst: 2) the flightcrew’s failure. to recognize a windshear situation in a timely manner, 3) the flightcrew’s failure to establish and maintain the proper airplane attitude and thrust setting necessary to escape the windshear; and 4) the lack of real-time adverse weather and windshear hazard information dissemination from air traffic control, all of which led to an encounter with and failure to escape from a microburst-induced windshear that was produced by a rapidly developing thunderstorm located at the approach end of runway 18R.

 

“Contributing to the accident were: 1) the lack of air traffic control procedures that would have required the controller to display and issue airport surveillance radar (ASR-9) weather information to the pilots of flight 1016, 2) the Charlotte tower supervisor’s failure to properly advise and ensure that all controllers were aware of and reporting the reduction in visibility and the runway visual range value information, and the low level windshear alerts that had occurred in multiple quadrants: 3) the inadequate remedial actions by USAir to ensure adherence to standard operating procedures: and 4) the inadequate software logic in the airplane’s windshear warning system that did not provide an alert upon entry into the windshear.” (NTSB)

 

July 3, AP: “Charlotte – A USAir jet crashed Saturday while trying to land here during a thunderstorm. The plane sheared off the tops of telephone poles….Most of the injuries were from the impact, others were from burns and smoke inhalation….

 

“Flight 1016…had taken off from Columbia, S.C., before crashing at about 6:40 p.m., officials said. The flight was to continue on to Memphis, Tenn….

 

“The plane smashed into trees and sheared off the top of telephone poles then broke into three large pieces after hitting the ground…The rear section…slammed into a house….

 

“Crews rescued several passengers who were trapped in the crumbled rear section, which caught on fire….

 

“One of the seven injured people being treated at Presbyterian Hospital was a motorist who was in a car hit by debris from the crashing plane….

 

“Witnesses said the plane came in low less than half a mile from the airport….” (Associated Press. “USAir jet crashes, kills at least 18.” Times-News, Burlington, NC, 7-3-1994, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “USAir jet crashes, kills at least 18.” Times-News, Burlington, NC, 7-3-1994, p. 1. Accessed 6-1-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/north-carolina/burlington/burlington-times-news/1994/07-03?tag

 

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas DC-9 in Charlotte: 37 killed.” Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 2-27-2016 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/1994/archives/crash-of-a-douglas-dc-9-in-charlotte-37-killed/

 

Cohn, Scotti. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of North Carolina. Chapter 16, “Terrain! Terrain! The Crash of Flight 1016, 1994.” Guilford, CT: Insiders’ Guide, an imprint of the Globe Pequot Press, 2005.

 

National Transportation Safety Board. “Flight into Terrain during Missed Approach USAir 1016, DC-9-31, N954VJ.” Investigations. Accident Reports. Accident Report Detail. Washington, DC: NTSB. Accessed 2-27-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AAR9503.aspx