1972 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision

(Redirected from Delta Airlines Flight 954) 1972 aviation accident

1972 Chicago–O'Hare
runway collision
North Central Airlines Flight 575 · Delta Air Lines Flight 954
Accident
The remains of the Delta Air Lines Convair 880 involved in the collision, stripped of parts and awaiting scrapping, photographed at O'Hare International Airport on January 31, 1974. .
Date	December 20, 1972 (1972-12-20)
Summary	Runway incursion caused by pilot error and ATC error due to failures in communication
Site	O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States 41°58′09″N 87°54′04″W / 41.96917°N 87.90111°W / 41.96917; -87.90111
Total fatalities	10
Total injuries	17
Total survivors	128
First aircraft
North Central Airlines DC-9-31 N960N, similar to the accident aircraft, photographed in 1971.
Type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
Operator	North Central Airlines
Registration	N954N
Flight origin	O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Stopover	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Destination	Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupants	45
Passengers	41
Crew	4
Fatalities	10
Injuries	15
Survivors	35
Second aircraft
The Delta Air Lines Convair CV-880 involved in the accident, photographed at O'Hare International Airport on April 24, 1971.
Type	Convair CV-880
Operator	Delta Air Lines
Registration	N8807E
Flight origin	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Destination	O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupants	93
Passengers	86
Crew	7
Fatalities	0
Injuries	2
Survivors	93

On December 20, 1972, North Central Airlines Flight 575 and Delta Air Lines Flight 954 collided on a runway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Ten people died – all on the North Central aircraft – and 17 were injured in the accident. This was the second major airliner accident to happen in Chicago in December 1972; the other was United Air Lines Flight 553, which crashed 12 days earlier on approach to Midway Airport.

Flight history

Delta Air Lines Flight 954

Delta Air Lines Flight 954 was a regularly scheduled flight from Tampa, Florida, to O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois. The crew consisted of Captain Robert E. McDowell (36), First Officer Harry D. Greenberg (31), and Flight Engineer Claude F. Fletcher (29), as well as four flight attendants. Operating Convair CV-880 N8807E, it departed Tampa at 3:41 p.m. EST on December 20, 1972, and made a routine flight to Chicago, where it landed on Runway 14L at O'Hare International Airport at 5:55 or 5:56 p.m. CST. During their approach, the flight crew was informed that Runways 14L and 14R were being used for departures, but were never told that Runway 27L also was being used for departures.

Conditions at the airport were foggy, with a visibility of about one-quarter mile (0.4 km). Upon clearing Runway 14L, Flight 954 began taxiing southwest and south toward the terminal, leaving Runway 14L by way of the Bridge Route taxiway. It had already crossed the north–south bridge that carries the taxiway from Runway 14L to the terminal by the time the first officer contacted O'Hare ground control and reported that the aircraft was "inside the bridge", had not yet received a gate assignment, and needed to wait in a holding area until receiving an assignment.

The ground controller did not hear the words "inside the bridge," and, assuming Flight 954 had just left the end of Runway 14L and was still well north of the bridge, ambiguously instructed it to hold in the "thirty-two box", meaning in the controller's mind the 32R run-up pad at the southeast end of Runway 14L, where he assumed the plane to be. To reach the 32R run-up pad, Flight 954 would have had to turn around and return to the end of Runway 14L, where it had just landed, taxiing against the flow of traffic; instead, Flight 954's captain and first officer both assumed that the ground controller understood that they were "inside the bridge" and was referring to the 32L run-up pad, which was located at the southeast end of Runway 14R, on the other side of the terminal from the 32R run-up pad. Assuming that they were cleared to taxi to the 32L pad, they proceeded toward it using the Bridge, Outer Circular, and North–South taxiways, via a route that intersected with Runway 27L.

There was no further communication between Flight 954 and the ground controller. This left the ground controller with the assumption that Flight 954 was holding at the 32R run-up pad and in no danger of conflicting with other traffic and the flight crew with the assumption that they were cleared to taxi to the 32L run-up pad and could cross Runway 27L without danger of a collision with aircraft using that runway. Moreover, Flight 954's flight crew had never received word that Runway 27L was an active runway, and had no reason to anticipate encountering other aircraft while taxiing across it.

North Central Airlines Flight 575

North Central Airlines Flight 575 was a regularly scheduled flight originating at O'Hare International Airport and stopping at Madison, Wisconsin, before terminating at Duluth, Minnesota. It was flown by Captain Ordell T. Nordseth (49) and First Officer Gerald Dale Adamson (32). Operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 N954N, the flight received clearance from O'Hare ground control at 5:50 p.m. CST to taxi to Runway 27L for departure. At 5:58:52.3 p.m. CST the O'Hare local controller cleared Flight 575 into takeoff position on the runway and at 5:59:18 p.m. CST cleared it for takeoff. At 5:59:24.3 p.m. CST, the captain reported that he was beginning his takeoff roll.

Collision

As the North Central DC-9 rolled down the runway, visibility was about 1⁄4 mile (400 m). It had reached a speed of about 140 knots (160 mph; 260 km/h) when its captain, peering ahead into the fog just after 6:00:03 p.m. CST, spotted Delta Flight 954 on the runway about 1,600 feet (500 m) ahead. At 6:00:07.2 p.m. CST, Flight 575's captain gave the order "Pull 'er up!" and he and the first officer pulled back on their control columns in an attempt to lift their DC-9 over the Delta CV-880. Although the DC-9 lifted into the air, it was too late to avoid contact with the CV-880, and the two aircraft collided at 6:00:08.3 p.m. CST.

The DC-9 tore off substantial portions of the CV-880's left wing and vertical stabilizer and caused three major compressions in the aft portion of its fuselage. The DC-9's right main landing gear detached during the collision, as did a flap from its right wing.

After the collision, the captain of Flight 575 determined that his DC-9 could not remain airborne, and attempted to land back on the runway. When he did, the plane's two remaining landing gear collapsed rearward, and the DC-9 skidded on its belly off Runway 27L, across a grassy area, and onto Runway 32L, where it came to rest. It immediately burst into flames.

The crew of Flight 954 apparently were unaware of the approaching DC-9 until hearing it strike their CV-880, and did not see the DC-9 until the first officer observed it crashing on the runway beyond them.

Aircraft

The North Central aircraft involved, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 N954N, had been completed on December 27, 1967. It was destroyed in the collision.

The Delta aircraft involved, Convair CV-880 N8807E, had been completed on July 25, 1960. It was substantially damaged.

Evacuation

Delta Air Lines Flight 954

Immediately after the collision, the captain of Flight 954 received reports of a fire aboard the CV-880; he shut down the engines and ordered an immediate emergency evacuation. The crew opened the four emergency doors and deployed the emergency slides, and all aboard the plane were successfully evacuated in about five minutes without further incident.

North Central Airlines Flight 575

After the DC-9 came to rest on Runway 32L, a fire broke out in the aft part of the plane, the cabin rapidly filled with smoke, and interior illumination in the passenger cabin was poor. The captain pulled the fire extinguisher handles and ordered an emergency evacuation. One passenger opened the right overwing door and escaped that way. One flight attendant opened the left overwing exit, exited the aircraft, and called on passengers to follow her; four passengers escaped via this door. The other flight attendant opened the main entry door and deployed the emergency slide, which did not inflate; she then was pushed out the door, but assisted passengers off the plane from outside the doorway. The captain entered the passenger cabin from the cockpit, calling passengers to come forward, then exited the plane via the main entry door and helped them to the ground before reboarding to assist more passengers off through the main door. The first officer escaped through a cockpit window and assisted passengers out of the aircraft from outside the plane at the main entry door. A total of 27 passengers exited via the main entry door.

Rescue response

Due to the foggy conditions and limited visibility at the airport, it took controllers nearly two minutes to determine that something had happened to North Central Flight 575. Once they did, they alerted the Chicago Fire Department, which arrived at the scene on Runway 32L about a minute later, three minutes after the crash. Employing 11 crash and fire vehicles and two ambulances, the fire department extinguished the fire in about 16 minutes at around 6:19 p.m. CST.

Also because of the prevailing poor visibility, controllers and rescue personnel remained unaware of the collision, and Delta Flight 954's involvement, until 6:28 p.m. CST, 28 minutes after the collision, when fire department personnel discovered the damaged and evacuated CV-880 on the taxiway.

Casualties

Delta Air Lines Flight 954

Two people aboard the Delta CV-880 suffered minor injuries in the collision, but all 93 people aboard evacuated the aircraft without further injury.

North Central Airlines Flight 575

A total of 10 people, all passengers, died aboard the North Central DC-9. Nine of the fatalities occurred in the post-collision fire among people who were unable to evacuate; the tenth person died later. Fifteen people aboard Flight 575 suffered non-fatal injuries.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board released its report on the accident on July 5, 1973. It found that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the traffic control system to ensure adequate aircraft separation during a period of limited visibility. It noted that non-standard terminology – used to expedite traffic flow – was common in communications between controllers and aircrews at O'Hare International Airport and included the omission of words, altered phraseology, and use of colloquialisms. It found that the lack of clarity of wording on the part of the ground controller in his communications with Delta Flight 954 and the Delta crew's failure to request confirmation that their taxiing intentions matched those understood by the ground controller were the major causes of the accident. As a result, the controller was confused as to the location of the Convair CV-880, and neither the controller nor its flight crew realized that they were referring to different run-up pads as the holding area for Delta Flight 954.

The board also found that North Central's training program did not include any practice evacuations in simulated accident conditions, and that this lack of practical training on the part of the DC-9's crew meant that the evacuation of the aircraft took longer than it otherwise might have; the Federal Aviation Administration required that North Central Airlines make improvements. The NTSB also found that ground control radar was not used properly during the incident, as well as that the ground controllers were not required to be qualified in its use; it recommended that O'Hare International Airport adopt the standard method for its use as employed at other airports.

References

^ "Aircraft Accident Report North Central Airlines, Inc., McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, N954N, and Delta Air Lines, Inc., Convair CV-880, N8807E, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, December 20, 1972" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. July 5, 1973. NTSB-AAR-73-15. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2020. - Copy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"FAA Registry (N954N)". Federal Aviation Administration.
"FAA Registry (N8807E)". Federal Aviation Administration.
"11 are killed in crash of Airliner in Chicago". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 21, 1972. p. 1.
"9 are dead in Chicago air crash". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. December 21, 1972. p. 1.
Miyagi, Masako (2005). Serious Accidents and Human Factors: Breaking the chain of events leading to an accident : lessons learned from the aviation industry. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-56347-745-4.
^ "NTSB Analyses O'Hare Runway Accident". Aviation Week and Space Technology. McGraw-Hill: 67. 1973. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
Branigan, Michael (2011). A History of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-60949-434-6.
Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 N954N Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on April 21, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-880-22-2 N8807E Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2020.

External links

Photo of North Central Airlines Flight 575 wreckage at Airdisaster.com at the Wayback Machine (archived June 1, 2015)

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Accidents and
incidents

DC-9	West Coast Airlines Flight 956 (1966) TWA Flight 553 (1967) Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 (1968) Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 (1968) Viasa Flight 742 (1969) Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 (1969) 1970 Dominicana air disaster Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (1970) ALM Flight 980 (1970) Southern Airways Flight 932 (1970) Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (1971) 1972 Turkish Airlines Adana crash JAT Flight 367 (1972) EgyptAir Flight 763 (1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (1972) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130 (1972) Southern Airways Flight 49 (1972) 1972 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision 1973 Nantes mid-air collision Aeroméxico Flight 229 (1973) Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (1973) Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (1974) Avensa Flight 358 (1974) Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450 (1975) 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision Southern Airways Flight 242 (1977) Air Canada Flight 189 (1978) TWA Flight 541 (1978) Alitalia Flight 4128 (1978) Itavia Flight 870 (1980) Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 (1981) Aeroméxico Flight 230 (1981) Aeroméxico Flight 110 (1981) Avensa Flight 007 (1983) Air Canada Flight 797 (1983) 1983 Madrid runway disaster Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 (1983) Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 (1985) Aeroméxico Flight 498 (1986) Garuda Indonesia Flight 035 (1987) Continental Airlines Flight 1713 (1987) Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17 (1988) Alitalia Flight 404 (1990) 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 (1991) Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 (1991) Japan Air System Flight 451 (1993) USAir Flight 1016 (1994) Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 (1995) ValuJet Flight 592 (1996) Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553 (1997) Cebu Pacific Flight 387 (1998) TAESA Flight 725 (1999) Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (2005) 2006 Mexico drug bust Hewa Bora Airways Flight 122 (2008)
MD-80	Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 (1981) Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (1987) Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046 (1988) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 (1991) China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398 (1993) China Northern Airlines Flight 6901 (1993) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 347 (1994) TWA Flight 427 (1994) American Airlines Flight 1572 (1995) Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 (1996) Korean Air Flight 1533 (1999) American Airlines Flight 1420 (1999) Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (2000) 2001 Linate Airport disaster China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 (2002) Lion Air Flight 538 (2004) West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 (2005) One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 (2007) Atlasjet Flight 4203 (2007) Spanair Flight 5022 (2008) Dana Air Flight 0992 (2012) Air Algérie Flight 5017 (2014) Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 (2015) Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 (2017) Caspian Airlines Flight 6936 (2020) 2021 Houston MD-87 crash RED Air Flight 203 (2022)
MD-90	Uni Air Flight 873 (1999)

Topics

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 (1972)
Jan 7 Iberia Flight 602Jan 21 Turkish Airlines DC-9 crashJan 26 JAT Yugoslav Flight 367Feb 22 Lufthansa Flight 649Mar 3 Mohawk Airlines Flight 405Mar 14 Sterling Airways Flight 296Mar 19 EgyptAir Flight 763Apr 18 East African Airways Flight 720May 4 Aeroflot Flight B-608May 5 Alitalia Flight 112May 8 Sabena Flight 571May 16 Svetlogorsk An-24 crashMay 18 Aeroflot Flight 1491May 30 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570Jun 12 American Airlines Flight 96Jun 14 Japan Air Lines Flight 471Jun 15 Cathay Pacific Flight 700ZJun 18 British European Airways Flight 548Jun 24 Prinair Flight 191Jun 29 Lake Winnebago mid-air collisionJul 2 Pan Am Flight 841Jul 5 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710Jul 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 841Aug 14 Königs Wusterhausen disasterAug 16 Burma Airways Thandwe crashAug 31 Aeroflot Flight 558Sep 15 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130Sep 24 Japan Air Lines Flight 472Sep 24 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accidentOct 1 Aeroflot Flight 1036Oct 13 Aeroflot Flight 217Oct 13 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571Oct 27 Air Inter Flight 696YOct 29 Lufthansa Flight 615Oct 30 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 327Nov 10 Southern Airways Flight 49Nov 15 Ansett Australia Flight 232Nov 28 Japan Air Lines Flight 446Dec 3 Tenerife Spantax Convair CV-990 crashDec 8 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708Dec 8 United Air Lines Flight 553Dec 8 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631Dec 20 Chicago–O'Hare runway collisionDec 23 Braathens Flight 239Dec 29 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401Dec 31 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash
1971 ◄ ► 1973

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 (1972)

Jan 7 Iberia Flight 602Jan 21 Turkish Airlines DC-9 crashJan 26 JAT Yugoslav Flight 367Feb 22 Lufthansa Flight 649Mar 3 Mohawk Airlines Flight 405Mar 14 Sterling Airways Flight 296Mar 19 EgyptAir Flight 763Apr 18 East African Airways Flight 720May 4 Aeroflot Flight B-608May 5 Alitalia Flight 112May 8 Sabena Flight 571May 16 Svetlogorsk An-24 crashMay 18 Aeroflot Flight 1491May 30 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570Jun 12 American Airlines Flight 96Jun 14 Japan Air Lines Flight 471Jun 15 Cathay Pacific Flight 700ZJun 18 British European Airways Flight 548Jun 24 Prinair Flight 191Jun 29 Lake Winnebago mid-air collisionJul 2 Pan Am Flight 841Jul 5 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710Jul 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 841Aug 14 Königs Wusterhausen disasterAug 16 Burma Airways Thandwe crashAug 31 Aeroflot Flight 558Sep 15 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130Sep 24 Japan Air Lines Flight 472Sep 24 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accidentOct 1 Aeroflot Flight 1036Oct 13 Aeroflot Flight 217Oct 13 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571Oct 27 Air Inter Flight 696YOct 29 Lufthansa Flight 615Oct 30 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 327Nov 10 Southern Airways Flight 49Nov 15 Ansett Australia Flight 232Nov 28 Japan Air Lines Flight 446Dec 3 Tenerife Spantax Convair CV-990 crashDec 8 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708Dec 8 United Air Lines Flight 553Dec 8 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631Dec 20 Chicago–O'Hare runway collisionDec 23 Braathens Flight 239Dec 29 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401Dec 31 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash

1971 ◄ ► 1973

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History

Accidents and incidents	Flight 705 (1948) Flight 318 (1953) Flight 9877 (1967) Flight 821 (1969) Flight 841 (1972) Flight 9570 (1972) Flight 954 (1972) Flight 723 (1973) Flight 523 (1974) Flight 1080 (1977) Flight 191 (1985) Flight 1141 (1988) Flight 1288 (1996) Flight 1989 (2001) Flight 1086 (2015) Flight 89 (2020)

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber (February 1970) Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (March 1970) ALM Flight 980 (May 1970)* Trans International Airlines Flight 863 (September 1970) Wichita State University football team plane crash (October 1970) Southern Airways Flight 932 (November 14 1970) Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 (November 27 1970)
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash (January 1971) Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash (May 1971) Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (June 6 1971) Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 (June 7 1971) Pan Am Flight 845 (July 1971) Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 (September 1971) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (See D. B. Cooper, November 1971)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 (March 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (May 1972) American Airlines Flight 96 (June 12 1972) Prinair Flight 191 (June 24 1972)* Lake Winnebago mid-air collision (June 29 1972) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 (July 5 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 841 (July 31 1972) Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident (September 1972) Southern Airways Flight 49 (November 1972) United Air Lines Flight 553 (December 10 1972) Chicago–O'Hare runway collision (December 20 1972) Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (December 29 1972) Puerto Rico DC-7 crash (December 31 1972)*
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash (February 1973) Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 (July 23 1973) Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (July 31 1973) TWA Flight 742 (August 1973) World Airways Flight 802 (September 8 1973) Texas International Airlines Flight 655 (September 27 1973) Pan Am Flight 160 (November 3 1973) National Airlines Flight 27 (November 3 1973) Iberia Flight 933 (December 1973)
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 (January 6 1974) Pan Am Flight 806 (January 30 1974)* Delta Air Lines Flight 523 (February 1974) Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (September 1974) TWA Flight 514 (December 1 1974) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231 (December 1 1974)
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 (Janaury 1975) Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 (June 1975) Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 (August 1975) Overseas National Airways Flight 032 (November 1975)
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 (April 5 1976) American Airlines Flight 625 (April 27 1976)* Air Manila Flight 702 (June 1976) TWA Flight 355 (September 1976)
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 (January 1977) Southern Airways Flight 242 (April 4 1977) Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 (April 12 1977) Encino helicopter crash (August 1977) Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash (October 1977) Air Indiana Flight 216 (December 13 1977) United Airlines Flight 2860 (December 18 1977) Vieques Air Link crash (December 19 1977)*
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 (March 1 1978) United Airlines Flight 696 (March 13 1978) National Airlines Flight 193 (May 1978) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 (September 25 1978) Air Caribbean Flight 309 (September 26 1978)* Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 (December 4 1978) TWA Flight 541 (December 21 1978) United Airlines Flight 173 (December 28 1978)
1979	TWA Flight 841 (April 1979) American Airlines Flight 191 (May 25 1979) Downeast Airlines Flight 46 (May 30 1979) Air New England Flight 248 (June 17 1979) American Airlines Flight 293 (June 20 1979) American Airlines Flight 444 (November 1979)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory, or in adjacent waters thereof. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 (July 1970) occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands. 1960–1969 ◄ 1970–1979 ► 1980–1989

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