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
Schedule:
Atlanta - Chattanooga
MSN:
47032/204
YOM:
1967
Flight number:
DL516
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
74
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total hours on type:
3218
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:
N3323L.pdf1.35 MB
