1983 Anchorage runway collision explained

1983 Anchorage runway collision
Occurrence Type:Accident
Summary:Collision on runway due to fog and disorientation of the pilot onboard Flight 084
Site:Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska
Coordinates:61.1697°N -150.0062°W
Total Fatalities:0
Total Injuries:6
Total Survivors:12
Plane1 Image:Korean Air Lines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 HL7339.jpg
Plane1 Caption:The DC-10 involved in the accident, seen at Orly Airport in April 1981.
Plane1 Type:McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF
Plane1 Operator:Korean Air Lines
Plane1 Iata:KE084
Plane1 Icao:KAL084
Plane1 Callsign:KOREAN AIR 084
Plane1 Tailnum:HL7339
Plane1 Origin:Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska
Plane1 Destination:Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California
Plane1 Occupants:3
Plane1 Passengers:0
Plane1 Crew:3
Plane1 Fatalities:0
Plane1 Injuries:3
Plane1 Survivors:3
Plane2 Image:N443MC (6479176323).jpg
Plane2 Caption:A PA-31-350 similar to that involved in the accident.
Plane2 Type:Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
Plane2 Operator:SouthCentral Air
Plane2 Callsign:SOUTHCENTRAL 59
Plane2 Tailnum:N35206
Plane2 Origin:Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska
Plane2 Destination:Kenai Municipal Airport, Kenai, Alaska
Plane2 Occupants:9
Plane2 Passengers:8
Plane2 Crew:1
Plane2 Fatalities:0
Plane2 Injuries:3
Plane2 Survivors:9
Plane2 Icao:SCA59
Plane2 Iata:XE59

On 23 December 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 084 (KAL084), a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF performing a cargo flight, collided during its takeoff roll with SouthCentral Air Flight 59 (SCA59), a Piper PA-31-350, on runway 06L/24R (now 07L/25R) at Anchorage International Airport, as a result of the KAL084 flight crew becoming disoriented while taxiing in dense fog and attempting to take off on the wrong runway. Both aircraft were destroyed, but no fatalities resulted.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Aircraft

The first aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF, MSN 46960, registered as HL7339, which was manufactured in 1977. The aircraft was equipped with three General Electric CF6-50C engines.[6]

The second aircraft involved was a Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain, MSN 31-7952193, and registered as N35206.[7]

Accident

At 1215 Yukon Standard Time, Flight 59 was cleared from Anchorage to Kenai in accordance with its filed flight plan; however, clearance delivery told the pilot to expect a delay until 1244 due to the heavy fog covering the airport, so the pilot shut down the aircraft and he and his passengers deplaned temporarily. After reboarding and recontacting the tower at 1234, Flight 59 was delayed for about an hour at its parking location due to the continued dense fog, before finally requesting and receiving a taxi clearance around 1339 as visibility began to improve. SCA 59 arrived at taxiway W-3 (which connects the main east–west taxiway to the approach end of runway 6L) at 1344, holding short of runway 6L until the runway visual range (RVR) reached, the minimum required for the flight to take off.

At 1357, the Anchorage ground controller cleared Korean Air Lines Flight 084 to taxi for a departure on either runway 6R or runway 32; the flight crew chose runway 32. The flight crew's selection of runway 32 was contrary to Korean Air Lines' operating specifications, as these required a visibility of at least one-quarter mile for takeoff on runway 32 at Anchorage, while the visibility at the time was only one-eighth of a mile. (The National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB], which investigated the accident, was unable to determine why the flight crew chose runway 32 instead of runway 6R, in part because the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was never recovered.) The proper taxi route from the north apron (where the DC-10 was parked) to runway 32 would have involved taxiing south to the east–west taxiway, then making a right turn onto the east–west taxiway and following it to the threshold of runway 32 before turning right again onto the runway. However, the flight instead taxied southwest on taxiway W-1 to runway 6L/24R and lined up on the latter runway, facing west. The heavy fog prevented the ground controller from being able to see the flight's taxi route and impaired the KAL084 flight crew's ability to navigate around the airport; additionally, some of the lighted taxiway and runway designation signs along the flight's course were partially or fully burned out, making the signs less visually conspicuous and harder to see, and the intersections of taxiway W-1 with the east–west taxiway and with runway 6L/24R lacked signage to indicate the identity of either taxiway (the latter deficiency was rectified after the accident). The height above the ground of the DC-10's flight deck, about, exacerbated the flight crew's difficulties, as it increased the slant range from the crew's eyes to the runway and taxiway signage and pavement markings. After taxiing into position on what the KAL084 flight crew thought was runway 32, the captain expressed some uncertainty that the aircraft was on the correct runway, and briefly considered switching to runway 6R, but, reassured by his first officer's certainty that they were on runway 32, the captain reported at 1403 that Flight 084 was holding in position on runway 32, and, at 1404, the flight was cleared for takeoff. At no time did the flight crew, despite the uncertainty expressed by the captain, attempt to use their instruments to verify that the heading of the runway they were on matched that of runway 32; the NTSB was unable to determine the reason for this omission.

At 1405:28, the Anchorage tower controller cleared SCA59 to taxi into position and hold on runway 6L, as the RVR had risen to the required 1,800 feet; 50 seconds later, at 1406:18, KAL084 radioed that it was starting its takeoff roll. Shortly afterwards, the pilot of SCA59 saw headlights approaching, which he initially assumed to be from a truck on the runway. After realizing that the lights were in fact from an aircraft on its takeoff roll, he ducked down low and yelled for his passengers to do the same. Meanwhile, the captain of Flight 084, seeing the PA-31 in his aircraft's path, applied up elevator and left rudder, lifting the DC-10's nose landing gear off the ground and causing its main body gear (mounted on the aircraft's centerline between the left and right wing gear) to swing to the right; as a result, the PA-31's fuselage was straddled by the DC-10's body gear and left wing gear, instead of being struck head-on by the body gear (which would likely have resulted in fatalities on board the smaller aircraft). After striking Flight 59, KAL084 continued off the end of the runway at far below flying speed, crashed through seven non-frangible towers supporting the runway 6L approach lighting system, came to rest past the end of the runway, and immediately caught fire.

Three of the passengers on board SCA59 received minor injuries, while the remaining passengers and the pilot were uninjured, although the aircraft was destroyed by the impact (the left and right wings were sheared off by the DC-10's main landing gear, while the DC-10's nose gear caved in the right side of the cockpit roof and then tore off part of the PA-31's vertical stabilizer); the three flight crew of KAL084 were seriously injured by impact forces, but managed to escape their aircraft before it was consumed by fire. (Some initial media reports erroneously listed seven injuries among the SCA59 occupants and none aboard KAL084.)[8]

See also

External links

Lawsuits arising from the accident:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Korean Air Lines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, HL7339, SouthCentral Air Piper PA-31-350, N35206, Anchorage, Alaska, December 23, 1983. 9 August 1984. National Transportation Safety Board. https://web.archive.org/web/20210825194138/https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR8410.pdf. 25 August 2021. 29 August 2021.
  2. J. Mac McClellan. May 1985. Aftermath: Takeoff Collision. Flying. 20–22. https://web.archive.org/web/20210830005546/https://books.google.com/books?id=I5GzYqRjVAoC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=kal+084&source=bl&ots=Mie-nxEaF-&sig=ACfU3U1UPOTHpkJcOy8JgcAcjzfizNQunQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiytdaamrvyAhXJK80KHQE2CVkQ6AF6BAgpEAM#v=onepage&q=kal%20084&f=false. 30 August 2021. 29 August 2021.
  3. News: . A Korean Air Lines DC-10 cargo plane, apparently trying.... United Press International. 23 December 1983. https://web.archive.org/web/20210830004215/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/12/23/A-Korean-Air-Lines-DC-10-cargo-plane-apparently-trying/3369441003600/. 30 August 2021. 29 August 2021.
  4. News: . Officials investigate possible language barrier in crash. United Press International. 24 December 1983. https://web.archive.org/web/20210830005234/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/12/24/Officials-investigate-possible-language-barrier-in-crash/2712441090000/. 30 August 2021. 29 August 2021.
  5. . January 1985. Military Airlift Command. Mishap With A Moral. The MAC Flyer. 20–23. https://web.archive.org/web/20210830011957/https://books.google.com/books?id=NkFw2RUaaMEC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=kal+084&source=bl&ots=wtQTNUPCXN&sig=ACfU3U3REdL0ncmKY6Ue92wrZV5AfeC3pw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPq_bBo9fyAhUNVs0KHdv-AaoQ6AF6BAgaEAM#v=onepage&q=kal%20084&f=false. 30 August 2021. 29 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 HL7339, Friday 23 December 1983 . 2024-07-13 . asn.flightsafety.org.
  7. Web site: Accident Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain N35206, Friday 23 December 1983 . 2024-07-13 . asn.flightsafety.org.
  8. News: Paul Jenkins. 24 December 1983. KAL cargo jet collides with passenger plane. The Desert Sun. 122. Associated Press. A3. https://web.archive.org/web/20210829213404/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19831224.2.27&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1. 29 August 2021. 29 August 2021.