AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT NORTH CENTRAL AIRLINES, INC. MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-9-31, N954N AND DELTA AIR LINES, INC. CONVAIR CV-880, N8807E O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 20 DECEMBER 1972

A North Central Airlines DC-9-31 and a Delta Air Lines Convair (CV-880) collided at the intersection of Runway 27L and the North-South taxiway on the O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, at 1800 central standard time on December 20, 1972. The DC-9 was taking off from Runway 27L, and the CV-880 was taxiing across the runway when the collision occurred. Neither flightcrew saw the other aircraft in time to avoid the collision. Forty-one passengers and four crewmembers were aboard the DC-9. Ten passengers died, and 13 passengers and 2 crewmembers were injured. The DC-9 was destroyed by impact and fire. Eighty-six passenger and seven crewmembers were aboard the CV-880. Two passengers received minor injuries. The CV-880 was substantially damaged. The weather at the O'Hare Airport at the time of the accident was reported, in part, as: ceiling indefinite 200 feet, sky obscured, with visibility 1/4 mile in fog. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the traffic control system to insure separation of aircraft during a period of restricted visibility.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Also available as Rept. No. SA-436.
• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1973-7-5

Media Info

• Pagination: 44 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air traffic control; Air transportation crashes; Aircraft; Crash injury research; Crash investigation; Crashes; Fatalities; Fires; Fog; Injuries; Research; Visibility
• Identifier Terms: McDonnell Douglas DC-9; U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
• Uncontrolled Terms: Separation
• Old TRIS Terms: Aircraft fires; Cv-880 aircraft; Ntsb
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00050781
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-AAR-73-15
• Files: NTIS
• Created Date: Jan 31 1974 12:00AM