Los Angeles

The crew was completing flight PS182 from Sacramento to San Diego with an intermediate stop in Los Angeles. While descending to San Diego-Lindbergh Field runway 27, the crew was informed about the presence of a Cessna 172M registered N7711G and operated by the Gibbs Flight Center. The single engine airplane just departed San Diego Airport for a local training mission with one student pilot and one instructor on board. At 0901:47, at an altitude of 2,600 feet and 3 NM northeast of San Diego Airport, both airplane collided. Out of control, they dove into the ground and crashed into several houses and the 805 highway located between the districts of Altadena and City Heights. Both aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 137 occupants in both aircraft were killed as well as seven people on the ground. Nine other people on the ground were seriously injured as dozen houses were destroyed.

On final approach to Los Angeles Airport, the airplane encountered vortex turbulences and crashed. Both occupants were injured, the passenger seriously. The approach was completed with a 5 knots tailwind.

On March 1, 1978, Continental Air Lines, Inc., Flight 603, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (N68045), was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. At 0857:18, Flight 603 called Los Angeles clearance delivery and was cleared for the route of flight which was to have been flown. About 2 min later, the flight received permission from Los Angeles ground control to push back from the gate. At 0901:37, Flight 603 was cleared by ground control to taxi to runway 6R. The runway was wet, but there was no standing water. At 0922:29, Los Angeles local control cleared Flight 603 to taxi into position on runway 6R and hold. At 0923:17, local control cleared Flight 603 for takeoff; however, the flightcrew did not acknowledge the instructions and did not comply with them. At 0923:57, local acknowledged the instructions. The captain stated that he delayed control, again, cleared the flight for takeoff. This time the flightcrew acknowledgment of the takeoff clearance because he believed that he had initially been given the clearance too soon after a heavy jet aircraft had made its takeoff. The flightcrew stated that acceleration was normal and that all engine instruments were in the normal range for takeoff. As the airspeed approached the V1 speed of 156 kns, the captain heard a loud "metallic bang" which was followed immediately by "a kind of quivering of the plane." The flightcrew noticed that the left wing dropped slightly. A rejected takeoff was begun immediately; however, according to the digital flight data recorder (DFDR), the airspeed continued to increase to about 159 kns as the rejected takeoff procedures were begun. The captain stated that he applied full brake pressure while simultaneously bringing the thrust levers back to idle power. Reverse thrust levers were actuated and full reverse thrust was used. The flightcrew stated that they noted good reverse thrust. First, the aircraft moved to the left of the runway centerline and appeared tb the flightcrew to be decelerating normally. With about of deceleration had decreased, and they believed that the aircraft would 2,000 ft of runway remaining, the flightcrew became aware that the rate not be able to stop on the runway surface. The captain stated that he maintained maximum brake pedal force and full reverse thrust as he steered the aircraft to the right of the runway centerline in an effort "to go beside the stanchions holding the runway lights" immediately off of the departure end of runway 6R. He stated further that he encountered no problems with directional control of the aircraft throughout the rejected takeoff maneuver. The aircraft departed the right corner of the departure end of runway 6R. About 100 ft beyond the runway, the left main landing gear broke through the nonload-bearing tar-macadam (tarmac) surface and failed rearward. Fire erupted immediately from this area. The aircraft dropped onto the left wing and the No. 1 (left) engine and rotated to the left as it continued its slide along the surface. It stopped between two of the approach light stanchions for runway 24L about 664 ft from the departure end of runway 6R and about 40 ft to the right of the runway 6R extended centerline; it came to rest on a heading of 008°, in an 11° left wing low, 1.3° noseup attitude. When the aircraft came to a stop, the evacuation was begun immediately. Two passengers were killed while all other occupants were evacuated, some of them with serious injuries.

While cruising by night in marginal weather conditions (low clouds), the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Carpinteria. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and the pilot, sole on board, was killed. The wreckage was found two days later.

Golden West Flight 261 departed Ontario, CA at 15:56PST for a VFR flight to Los Angeles. At 16:04 the crew contacted LAX arrival and reported over Rose Hills. The flight was then cleared for the Terminal Control Area (TCA) and no. 2 arrival to runway 24L. At 16:05 the crew were advised that they had traffic 5,5nm in front of them climbing from 1500 to 3000 feet which was a police helicopter on a VFR flight. The arrival controller transmitted another advisory about the helicopter at 16:06, but there was no response. It appeared the Twin Otter had collided in flight at 2200 feet with a Cessna 150 aircraft (N11421). The Twin Otter was flying on a 250deg heading descending 300 feet/min at 146 knots airspeed while the Cessna was flying at 94 kts; the closing speed was 174 kts. The Cessna, operated by CessnAir Aviation had departed from Long Beach on a local training flight at 15:46. Both aircraft crashed. Debris caused some damage to houses and lawns near the crash site.

Following an uneventful flight from New York-JFK, the crew started the descent to Los Angeles Airport runway 06R over the sea. Weather was clear but on short final, the crew encountered local patches of fog and visual control with the ground was lost. The airplane continued the approach and landed nose wheel first with a vertical g load of 4.6. This caused the nose wheel to collapse rearward and a fire started in the nose wheel well area. The fire in the nose wheel well was initiated by the burning nose gear tires. The fire was fed by hydraulic fluid that escaped from broken nose wheel steering hydraulic lines. Evacuation of the aircraft resulted in minor or serious injuries to eight passengers. Firefighting personnel were unable to extinguish the fire in the nose wheel well before it spread to the fuselage and destroyed the cockpit and the passenger cabin.

The airplane was completing a internationaal service from Auckland to Los Angeles with an intermediate stop in Papeete, Tahiti. After a night takeoff from Papeete-Faaa Airport runway 04, while climbing to a height of 300 feet, the pilot-in-command initiated a turn to the left according to departure procedures. Then the aircraft entered a left banked, lost altitude and crashed into the sea about 3 km offshore. Few debris were found floating on water and one passenger was evacuated while all 78 other occupants were killed. The aircraft sank by a depth of about 700 meters and both CVR and FDR were not found.

Airwest flight 706, a DC-9, was to fly from Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Seattle, WA (SEA) with intermediate stops at Salt Lake City (SLC), Boise (BOI), Lewiston (LWS), Pasco (PSC) and Yakima (YKM). The aircraft departed Los Angeles at 18:02. At 18:09 the crew reported leaving FL120 and Los Angeles ARTCC cleared them direct to Daggett. At 17:16 h a US Marine Corps McDonnell F-4B Phantom 151458 departed Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Fallon for a flight to MCAS El Toro at low altitude. The aircraft had several technical difficulties, including an inoperative transponder and a leak in the oxygen system. Due to deteriorating visibility northwest of Palmdale, the crew climbed to 15,500 feet . Shortly after level-off, aircraft was 50 miles from MCAS El Toro. The pilot executed a 360° aileron roll at this time, which took approximately 3 seconds to complete. The Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) estimated that the true airspeed in the climb and after level-off was 420 knots. The F-4B collided with the Airwest DC-9 about 1 minute and 20 sec after the roll, at 15150 feet. After the collision, the F-4 began to tumble violently about the lateral axis. The RIO waited about 5 seconds, and, after seeing numerous warning lights in the cockpit, he ejected from the aircraft . The ejection was successful, and he parachuted to the ground without injury. The other F-4 crewmember did not survive the accident.

Shortly after takeoff from runway 21 at Grand Canyon-National Park Airport, while in initial climb by night, the crew initiated a right turn when the airplane struck tree tops and crashed in flames. The airplane was totally destroyed and all five occupants were killed.

The crew was completing a training flight from Los Angeles to Ontario. The pilot under supervision was supposed to complete an ILS approach with one engine inoperative, to make a missed approach and a go-around procedure. On final to runway 25R, the airplane went out of control and crashed in a field. The airplane was totally destroyed and all five crew members were killed.