How many times have you been on a late flight that was delayed, and just wanted to get home? Of just hoping the pilot would go ahead and fly through the storm to get you to your destination?
On June 1, 1999, American Airlines flight 1420 departed the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport at 10:40 p.m. CDT for the relatively short flight to Little Rock. The flight had been scheduled to depart at 8:28 p.m., but thunderstorms in the Dallas area caused general delays.
There were 2 flight crew members, 4 flight attendants and 139 passengers aboard the DC-9 aircraft as it left for Little Rock. Flight duty rules were becoming an issue for the crew. According to the NTSB report, American was working to get the flight out as quickly as possible.
Another looming problem was thunderstorms that were expected in the Little Rock area on arrival. After departure, the crew received weather information and commented that they needed to expedite the arrival. At 11:25, the Captain commented that they “needed to get there quick.†The crew could see lightning near the airport. The decided to land rather than divert. Read the rest of the story in today’s Weather Blog.
On initial approach, the crew was notified there was a thunderstorm northwest of the field moving toward the field and that winds were 280 degrees at 28 knots, gusting to 44 knots. The crew discussed company crosswind rules. At 11:39:00, the controller asked what the crew was seeing on their radar along the landing path. The crew said they could barely make out the runway.
The controller reported a windshear alert 45 seconds later. The crew requested a switch from the approach to runway 22L to 4R so they would have a headwind. The approach was terminated and the flight given new vectors. At 11:42:27, the crew was having trouble seeing the airport and the controller reported that a second storm was over the field. At 11:42:11, the crew was cleared for a visual approach. At 11:44, they reported their view of the airport blocked by clouds and were given a vector for an instrument landing.
At 11:45:47, the plane’s First Officer reported to the controller that they were very close to the storm and asked for the quickest possible landing. At 11:46:52. the Captain commented on the Cockpit Voice Recorder that they were going right into the storm. Simultaneously, the controller reported that there was heavy rain, visibility less than one mile. There was some internal discussion about company rules for the minimum runway visual range for a landing. It would get down to 1600 feet.
At 11:47:53, the controller advised there was another windshear alert. Winds were averaging 31 knots. At 11:49:12, the Captain muttered, “This is a can of worms.†Amazingly, at 11:49:29, there was still confusion in the cockpit as to where the runway was. As the Captain piloted the plane toward the runway, the First Officer reported saying they should go around, but that the pilot was flying the plane well at the time, and he did not force the issue. The plane touched down at 11:50:20. But improper use of the spoilers and reversers caused the plane to go off the end of the runway at a high rate of speed. It struck several light towers, broke apart and burst into flames.
The NTSB found that the approach should have been aborted. In addiiton, the spoilers were not armed before landing. The crew lost directional control of the plane due to improper use of the thrust reversers. The crew’s degraded performance was exacerbated by fatigue and the pending storm. The NTSB also cited lack of real time radar in the tower as a factor.
The Captain and ten passengers died.
