Boeing 727 N1965
23 June 1985 · South Haven, Michigan, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 23 June 1985 at about 21:08 local time, a Boeing 727 registered N1965, operated by American Airlines, Inc., was involved in an accident near South Haven, Michigan, United States. 75 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 21:08
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- South Haven, Michigan, United States
- Coordinates
- 42.4004, -86.2691
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727
- Registration
- N1965
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 3
- Operator
- American Airlines, Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Chicago → Grand Rapids
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI85FA249
People
2 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 71 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
WHILE EN ROUTE ON AN IFR FLT PLAN (1ST OFFICER AT CTLS), AMERICAN FLT 803 (A BOEING 727, N1965) BGN A DSCNT FM FL 190 TO9000'. THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS TURNED ON AT 18,000'. WHILE DSCNDG BTN CLD LAYERS, AT APRX 13,000 TO 12,000', THE CAPT SAWA CESSNA 421C, N1200L, CONVERGING FM OPPOSITE DRCTN. HE TOOK CTL & 'EXECUTED A HARD NOSE OVER' TO AVOID A COLLISION. THECESSNA PLT RPRTD HE WAS CRUISING IN VFR CONDS AT 12,500' WHEN HE SAW THE BOEING DSCNDG OUT OF SCAT CLDS. HE BGN DSCNDG, THEN ENTERED AN ABRUPT CLBG TURN TO AVOID COLLIDING. RPRTDLY, THE ACFT PASSED EACH OTHER W/I 50 TO 100'. AN UNRESTRAINEDPAX & 1 FLT ATNDNT (FA) WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED; 2 FA'S RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. AFTER LNDG, WRINKLES & SKIN DMG WERE FNDON THE CESSNA'S HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS. THE CESSNA PLT WAS USING HIS #2 TRANSPONDER (XP); ARTCC WAS RECEIVING ITS REPLY INTERMITTENTLY; IT WAS FND TRANSMITTING 3 MHZ (MAX LMT) ABV THE DESIRED FREQ. ON 4/12/84, XP'S WERE CHKD & WRITTEN UP AS'#2 OFF FREQ HIGH.' AFTER THE NR COLLISION, THE ARTCC CTLR NOTED THE 'ALL PRIMARY' FEATURE OF HIS RADAR WAS NOT IN USE.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 727 727 | N1965 | American Airlines, Inc. | - |
| Cessna 421C 421C | N1200L | Michael R. Meyers | Substantial |
Other Boeing 727 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Apr 1985 | Boeing 727-200 | Washington, District of Columbia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 1985 | Boeing 727-225 | Richmond, Virginia, United States | Eastern Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jan 1985 | Boeing 727-225 | La Paz, Bolivia | - | Fatal | 29 |
| 8 Nov 1985 | Boeing 727-23 | Bellevue, Nebraska, United States | American Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 29 Mar 1985 | Boeing 727-200B | Mexico City, Mexico | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Oct 1985 | Boeing 727-200 | Oakland, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct 1985 | Gulfstream 690A | Cadillac, Michigan, United States | Thomas Wiles | Fatal | 2 |
| 12 Nov 1985 | Cessna 402C | Detroit, Michigan, United States | Gateway Pace Aviation, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 25 Apr 1985 | Boeing 747-123 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | United Air Carriers | Minor injuries | - |
| 4 Dec 1985 | Cessna T210M | Highland, Michigan, United States | Thomas J. O'connor | Minor injuries | - |
| 10 Dec 1985 | Aerospatiale SA365N | Adrian, Michigan, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 13 Jan 1985 | Piper PA-28-161 | Troy, Michigan, United States | Lentini Aviation | No injuries | - |