Los Angeles runway disaster USAir Flight 1493 · SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569
The wreckage of Flight 1493 after the accident.
Accident
Date
February 1, 1991
Summary
Runway collision caused by air traffic controller error
Site
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, California United States 33°56′58″N118°24′34″W / 33.9494°N 118.4095°W / 33.9494; -118.4095
Total fatalities
35[a]
Total injuries
29
Total survivors
66
First aircraft
N388US, the Boeing 737 involved in the accident, with previous registration
Type
Boeing 737-3B7
Operator
USAir
IATA flight No.
US1493
ICAO flight No.
USA1493
Call sign
USAIR 1493
Registration
N388US
Flight origin
Syracuse Hancock International Airport
1st stopover
Washington National Airport
2nd stopover
Port Columbus International Airport
Last stopover
Los Angeles International Airport
Destination
San Francisco International Airport
Occupants
89
Passengers
83[b]
Crew
6
Fatalities
23[a]
Injuries
29 (12 serious, 17 minor)
Survivors
66
Second aircraft
N683AV, the SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner involved in the accident
Type
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
Operator
SkyWest Airlines
IATA flight No.
OO5569
ICAO flight No.
SKW5569
Call sign
SKYWEST 569
Registration
N683AV
Flight origin
Los Angeles International Airport
Destination
LA/Palmdale Regional Airport
Occupants
12
Passengers
10
Crew
2
Fatalities
12
Survivors
0
On the evening of February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737-300, collided with SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft, upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).[1][2] As Flight 1493 was on final approach, the local controller was distracted, though air traffic was not heavy at LAX, by a series of abnormalities, including a misplaced flight progress strip and an aircraft that had inadvertently switched off the tower frequency. The SkyWest flight was told to taxi into takeoff position, while the USAir flight was landing on the same runway.
Upon landing, the 737 collided with the smaller turboprop Metroliner, which was crushed beneath the larger USAir jet as it continued down the runway, caught fire, and veered into an airport fire station. Rescue workers arrived in minutes and began to evacuate the 737, but because of the intense fire, three of the 737's six exits were unusable, including both front exits; front passengers could only use one of the two overwing exits, causing a bottleneck. All 12 people aboard the smaller plane were killed, along with an eventual total of 23 of the 89 occupants of the 737, with most deaths on the 737 caused by asphyxiation in the fire.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the probable cause of the accident was the procedures in use at the LAX control tower, which provided inadequate redundancy, leading to a loss of situational awareness by the local controller, and inadequate oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for failing to supervise the control tower managers.[3]: vi, 76 The crash led directly to the NTSB's recommendation of using different runways for takeoffs and landings at LAX.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-3B7 N388US Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX)". www.aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
^Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III N683AV Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX)". www.aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference AAR91-08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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