Chattanooga-Lovell Field | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane departed Chattanooga-Lovell Field Airport Runway 20 at 2225LT on a cargo flight (FDX1376) to Memphis with a crew of three on board. While climbing at night, the crew reported technical problems with the landing gear. The crew continued to the north, followed a circuit then completed a low pass over runway 20 at 2256LT. A second low pass was completed at 2319LT then the crew made a belly landing at 2347LT. The airplane slid on the runway then veered off runway and came to rest in a grassy area with both engines damaged. All three crew members evacuated safely.

Crash of a Douglas DC-9-32 in Chattanooga

Date & Time: Nov 27, 1973 at 1851 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-9

Operator:

Registration:

N3323L

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Atlanta - Chattanooga

MSN:

47032/204

YOM:

1967

Flight number:

DL516

Location:

Chattanooga-Lovell Field

Tennessee

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

15949

Captain / Total hours on type:

3218.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

6301

Copilot / Total hours on type:

4000

Aircraft flight hours:

18233

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Atlanta, the crew started the approach to Chattanooga Airport in poor weather conditions with limited visibility due to heavy rain falls. On short final, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck approach light located 1,600 feet short of runway 20 threshold. The airplane then struck the ground, lost its left wing and skidded for another 1,200 feet before coming to rest 250 feet to the left of the runway centerline. All 79 occupants evacuated safely and only seven passengers were slightly injured.

Probable cause:

The pilot did not recognize the need to correct an excessive rate of descent after the aircraft had passed decision height. This occurred despite two verbal reports of increasing sink rate by the first officer. The captain disregarded the reports by the first officer, possibly because of the influence of a visual illusion caused by the refraction of light through the heavy rain on the windshield. The excessive rate of descent was initiated by a wind shear condition which extended in the lower levels of the approach path and a glide slope that tended toward the lower signal limit.

Final Report:

Crash of a Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando in Chattanooga

Date & Time: Jan 22, 1955

Type of aircraft:

Curtiss C-46 Commando

Operator:

Registration:

N1242N

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Norfolk – Knoxville – Oklahoma City

MSN:

22406

YOM:

1945

Location:

Chattanooga-Lovell Field

Tennessee

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew left Norfolk NAS on a cargo flight to Oklahoma City with an intermediate stop at Knoxville, carrying a load of 12,000 pounds of various goods on behalf of the US Army. As the weather conditions worsened at Knoxville, the crew was diverted to Chattanooga. With a ceiling at 900 feet, the crew continued the approach at an insufficient altitude when the airplane hit trees, lost its left wing and crashed 2,660 feet short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and both crew members were seriously injured.

Probable cause:

The crew decided to continue the approach below the glide without any visual contact with the ground.