USAir Flight 1016

USAir Flight 1016
	The remains of the aircraft after impact
Accident
Date	July 2, 1994
Summary	Microburst induced windshear leading to pilot error and spatial disorientation[1]
Site	near Charlotte/Douglas Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States ; 35°13′3.87″N 80°57′33.57″W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
Operator	USAir
Registration	N954VJ
Flight origin	Columbia Metropolitan Airport
Destination	Charlotte/Douglas Airport
Occupants	57
Passengers	52
Crew	5
Fatalities	37[1]
Injuries	20[1]
Survivors	20

USAir Flight 1016 was a US domestic flight between Columbia, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 2, 1994, the DC-9 operating the flight encountered a severe thunderstorm and microbursts, which induced wind shear while attempting to land, causing the plane to crash into trees and a private residence near the airport. The accident and subsequent fire killed 37 people and injured 16 others.[1]

Investigation

The NTSB immediately dispatched an investigation team, which recovered the CVR and FDR from the plane's wreckage.[1]^: 33 After a lengthy investigation, the NTSB concluded that a microburst generated by the thunderstorm over the airport at the time of the crash was the probable cause of the accident. The NTSB listed these contributing factors:

The flight crew's decision to continue an approach to an area where a microburst was likely.
The failure of the flight crew to recognize wind shear quickly (exacerbated by an error in the wind shear alert software; the wind shear alert system should have warned them about 8–9 seconds prior to impact)[1]^: 12
The failure of the flight crew to establish proper pitch and engine power that would have brought them out of the wind shear
The lack of timely weather information by air traffic control to the crew of Flight 1016

References

Aircraft Accident Report, Flight Into Terrain During Missed Approach, USAir Flight 1016, DC-9-31, N954VJ, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, July 2, 1994 (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. April 4, 1995. AAR-95-03. Retrieved December 23, 2017.

Other websites

Sudden Impact — A Flight Attendant's Story of Courage and Survival
Interview with Richard DeMary, flight attendant aboard flight 1016 (Archive)
Photo of N954VJ, prior to the crash Archived 2005-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
NTSB investigation docket

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[AAR-95-03_Final_Report-1] Aircraft Accident Report, Flight Into Terrain During Missed Approach, USAir Flight 1016, DC-9-31, N954VJ, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, July 2, 1994 (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. April 4, 1995. AAR-95-03. Retrieved December 23, 2017.