USAir Flight 1493 vs. SkyWest Flight 5569
Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California
February 1, 1991
The aviation disaster attorneys at the Baum Hedlund law firm represented 14 passengers in wrongful death and personal injury cases after an air traffic controller negligently placed two airlines on a collision course, resulting in one of the most tragic aviation accidents in Los Angeles International Airport’s history.
On February 1, 1991, SkyWest Flight 5569 was preparing to take off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California. The twin-engine turbo-prop Fairchild Metro III plane, carrying 10 passengers and two crew members, was en route to Palmdale Regional Airport, in California. As it prepared to take off, SkyWest 5569 was directed by traffic control to move onto runway 24L at intersection 45. It was then told to hold its position until given the clear to take off.
A few moments later, the same local controller directed USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737 carrying 82 people, to land at LAX runway 24L. Preoccupied with another plane, the local controller had forgotten about the smaller plane she had directed to wait on the same runway. The SkyWest Fairchild, still waiting for the take-off command, had only seconds to react before being hit by the landing B-737.
The force of the collision caused the tangled planes to slide off the runway into an unoccupied fire station, where they erupted in flames.
Everyone aboard the smaller twin engine aircraft were killed and 22 of the 89 aboard the B-737, 20 passengers and two crew members, perished.
In addition to suing the airline, the Baum Hedlund firm also sued the FAA for negligence, in part because the air traffic controller cleared the USAir jet to land moments after she had cleared the SkyWest flight to taxi on the same runway. The firm also charged the FAA with negligence for failing to provide adequate policy direction and supervision to its air traffic control facility manager.
After conducting a detailed investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the crash was a direct result of the failure of the Los Angeles air traffic facility management to implement the required procedures. Also to blame was the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) because it failed to provide adequate policy direction and oversight to its air traffic control facility managers. According to the NTSB report, the combination of these two mistakes led to the inappropriate clearances by the air controller and ultimately, the fatal collision.
Links to NTSB’s Probable Cause Reports
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X16433&key=1
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X16433&key=2