AA flt 1340 crash?
JFLEISC
Anyone know anything, or any details about a "crash landing" of an AA plane ‘AA
flight 1340 Kansas to Chicago’ where someone said the wing subsequently fell
off?
Jim
F 94C
jfl...@aol.com (JFLEISC) writes:
Hi Jim,
Don't think wing fell off.
Re: AAL B-727 N845AA, Flt 1340, Monday, 2/9/98, 9:58 a.m. CST
at Chicago ORD airport, landing runway 14R, 13,000 x 200 ft.
Lands short, skids on then off runway, wipes off gear and
one engine. Two Pilots, one Flight Engineer, three Flight
Attendants, 115 passengers aboard. No serious injuries.
Here's what papers say:
From Chicago Sun Times Newspaper 2/10/98
http://www.suntimes.com/index/news.html
Passengers frantic when jet botches O'Hare landing
February 10, 1998
A 727 jet landing at O'Hare Airport Monday slammed to the ground
and careened across a field at 195 m.p.h., ripping off its landing gear
and an engine and terrifying passengers.
None of the 115 passengers and six crew members aboard American
Airlines Flight 1340 from Kansas City, Mo., was hurt. But the hard
landing and 1,500- to 2,000-foot skid left them shaken.
``We hit the ground like a rock coming out of the sky,'' passenger
Kerry Heidebrecht told WBBM-Channel 2. ``It was pretty hard, then
it felt like after we hit that we bounced back up.''
``It was pretty chaotic,'' another passenger said. ``Everybody was
screaming.''
Another flier said the plane bounced a couple of times, tearing his
seat belt and causing the seat in front of him to come loose from its
floor mount.
``I think we all feel pretty fortunate,'' he said.
The Boeing 727 set down 200 yards short of the runway, said
Shelly Hazle, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety
Board in Washington.
It sheared off numerous runway lights as it skidded 3,000 feet
down the runway before veering off to the southwest into a muddy field,
said a source close to the investigation.
Dense fog and quarter-mile visibility were reported at the time,
but officials said they didn't know if weather was a factor.
``The pilot ... told us visibility was low, but he felt we had
clearance to get in,'' said passenger John Wahlen.
American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan declined
to comment on the cause of the accident, but said the captain of
the plane had not declared an emergency before landing.
The incident occurred about 9:40 a.m., about 30 minutes past
Flight 1340's scheduled arrival, Fagan said. Weather had delayed
inbound O'Hare flights Monday.
As the plane careened through the field, it began to dig into the
mud, breaking off its landing gear and left engine. As the plane
tottered without wheels, its wings caught the ground and spun it
around, officials and witnesses reported.
The luggage compartment was ripped open, strewing
passengers' suitcases across the field.
``It's a miracle'' nobody was hurt, one official said.
A shaken Mario Saenz said the impact tore loose
portions of the plane's interior.
The 250,000-pound airliner was trying to land on
Runway 14-R, which is 13,000 feet long and 200 feet wide,
the biggest at O'Hare, said aviation department spokesman
Dennis Culloton.
When the plane came to rest, it was ``significantly buried
in the mud. The entire belly [of the plane] is buried,'' said
aviation Commissioner Mary Rose Loney.
The runway, one of six, remains closed pending an
investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board,
which sent investigators late Monday.
``It's going to be quite a job getting the aircraft out of the
mud. It's buried,'' Loney said. ``We don't know if the runway
can be used while we're recovering the aircraft. One of the
problems is the mud.
``In all likelihood we're going to have to build a temporary
road to get to the aircraft just to stage the heavy equipment,
such as cranes, that we need.''
Loney said the recovery is largely in the hands of American
Airlines, which must determine whether the aircraft is salvageable.
If not, Loney said ``it would make our job a lot easier because
we could just cut it up'' to move it.
After the plane came to rest, passengers slid down the
emergency exit chutes, aviation spokeswoman Monique
Bond said.
The runway closing was not causing delays, she said.
It ``doesn't really hit you until afterward, you know after
you're out, then you calm down, you realize you're OK, then
you get a little nervous, you start shaking,'' said Saenz.
``Rough landings are one thing,'' said Heidebrecht.
``This was much worst than that.''
Contributing: Associated Press
http://www.suntimes.com/index/news.html
==============End Chicago Sun Times==============
------------start Chicago Tribune story-------------------------
http://www.chicago.tribune.com
From Chicago Tribune:(earlier)
Vignette Mon Feb 9 21:46:38 1998
JET SKIDS OFF O'HARE RUNWAY
Passengers safe but frightened
By Carri Karuhn and Rogers Worthington
Tribune Staff Writers
February 10, 1998
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary for the 115 passengers
of American Airlines Flight 1340 as the plane began its descent to
O'Hare International Airport shortly before 10 a.m. Monday. Aside
from the fog shrouding Chicago, which had delayed the takeoff in
Kansas City, Mo., the flight had been uneventful. And as the
Boeing 727, owned by the nation's largest air carrier, prepared to
land on the longest and widest runway at the world's busiest airport,
it appeared as if the landing would be routine. But when the plane
touched ground, it hit "like a rock coming out of the sky," said Kerry
Heidebrecht, 29, a Kansas City businessman who was on his way
to Hartford, Conn. The plane bounced and tilted to its left. Some
passengers screamed, and oxygen masks fell from overhead. When
the plane finally came to rest, it was stuck in the mud about 300 feet
from the edge of the runway. Passengers evacuated through
inflatable chutes and by jumping off the wings. And though many
later described the landing as a "crash," no one was seriously
injured. Now federal investigators are trying to answer two simple
but disturbing questions: Did the big plane miss O'Hare's biggest
runway entirely? And if so, how could that happen? Neither officials
of O'Hare, American Airlines or the National Transportation Safety
Board could answer the questions with any certainty Monday night.
But according to passengers' accounts, it appears that Flight 1340
touched down on an unpaved area short of Runway 14-Right. At
least two rows of a bank of approach lights about 30 yards from the
start of the runway were knocked out-- apparently by the landing
gear of the 22-year-old Boeing 727, O'Hare officials said. If the
plane crossed the runway at all, it apparently did so only briefly
before veering off into a grassy area, where it finally came to rest
on its belly, mired in mud. "We never hit the runway," said
passenger Kevin Jones, an Army combat engineer stationed at
Ft. Riley, Kan., who was traveling from Kansas City to visit his
girlfriend in Chicago. "No one really knew we were in any danger
at all until we smacked into the ground, bounced, and slid," he
said. "It sounded like the plane was falling apart on the outside."
Indeed, the plane's landing gear was shorn off, at least one engine
was ripped off the tail section, and the plane's front fuselage was
"ripped open like a sardine can," according to passenger
Heidebrecht. Baggage was strewn in the plane's wake. Officials
of American Airlines, O'Hare and the Federal Aviation
Administration withheld all comment and speculation about where
the airplane initially touched down, pending the federal
Investigation. "We just don't know until they make an
assessment," said Monique Bond, an airport spokeswoman. A
team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety
Board, including specialists in meteorology and air-traffic control,
arrived Monday night from Washington, D.C. They joined a team
from the agency's office in Des Plaines, which arrived at O'Hare
shortly after the incident. "Obviously, it's a major airport, a major
carrier, and we feel the need to launch a team on this," said
Shelly Hazle, a spokeswoman for the safety board in Washington.
A fog that blanketed O'Hare earlier in the morning had partially
lifted by 8:30 a.m., giving pilots visibility of one-quarter of a mile,
which normally does not pose a problem, O'Hare officials said.
The 727 touched down at 9:58, one hour and 17 minutes after
departing Kansas City's Mid-Continent International Airport, where
its departure was delayed 42 minutes because of the fog in
Chicago. But Runway 14-Right, used by the biggest planes taking
off and landing at O'Hare, is equipped with what airport spokesman
Dennis Culloton said is the latest in technology. It can handle
flights in even the most inclement weather, he said. "You can
land with instruments. You can land with no visibility if you needed
to," he said. The runway remained closed Monday night as officials
continued to investigate. But the closing was not significantly
slowing operations at O'Hare, officials said. The three-member
American Airlines cockpit team that led Flight 1340's six-person
crew was "experienced," according to airline spokeswoman Mary
Frances Fagan. She declined to identify the members of the
cockpit team, disclose how long they had been flying or say
whether the airline suspected pilot error. Before the landing, the
pilots made no mention of possible problems to the O'Hare tower,
airport officials said. Passengers also said they were not informed
over the plane's intercom of anything out of the ordinary.
Heidebrecht and other passengers described being surprised by
the closeness of the ground when the plane came through the
clouds. Just before it touched down, Heidebrecht said, he felt
the plane accelerate. Then the plane hit the ground. "Rough
landings are one thing," Heidebrecht said. "This was much worse
than that. It flashed through my mind for a split-second that this
could be it." When the plane hit, several passengers screamed,
Jones said, and the oxygen masks dropped. As the plane skidded
on its belly, "the only thing I was hoping is that we don't hit
anything on the ground," said passenger George McCoy, a
computer network engineer from Kansas City. When the plane
came to rest, "some people were on their cell phones calling
their families," said Heidebrecht. "There were a couple who were
crying, really shook up."
<!-- Vignette Mon Feb 9 21:46:40 1998 -->
============end Chicago Tribune story==========
Bye,
Will
Chad Kintz
I heard about it from a non-flying friend. Sounds like it dragged through
the approach lights. Supposedly the fog was a factor. I live in central
Illinois, and if our weather yesterday was at all similar to ORD's, they
were shooting CAT III's. Dunno about a wing falling off; I'm sure I would
have heard about that from my friend. Of course, if I'm mistaken about any
of this, someone will surely let me know.
--
Chad Kintz
Student Pilot
JFLEISC wrote in message <19980209170...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
Mark Rogers
Chad Kintz <cki...@bigfoot.com> wrote in article
<eYsbRSj...@nih2naab.prod2.compuserve.com>...
> I heard about it from a non-flying friend. Sounds like it dragged
through
> the approach lights. Supposedly the fog was a factor. I live in central
> Illinois, and if our weather yesterday was at all similar to ORD's, they
> were shooting CAT III's. Dunno about a wing falling off; I'm sure I
would
> have heard about that from my friend. Of course, if I'm mistaken about
any
> of this, someone will surely let me know.
>
Actually, the weather was only CAT II, and it was rapidly improving.
We were just a few minutes behind the American 727. The earlier ATIS's
were reporting less than 1/4 mile with visibility variable between 1000 and
1600 RVR. If I remember correctly, the current ATIS at the time of the
accident was "Y", and they were reporting 1/2 mile with an indefinate 100
foot ceiling. Approach control was still reporting the RVR, and it was
varying between about 1400 and 3000.
About the time of the accident we were turning a base leg for 14R. The RVR
was reported as (touchdown) 2000, (mid) 3000, (rollout) 3000. We were
cleared for the approach and just outside the marker (about to switch to
tower) when approach told us to track inbound on the localizer and maintain
5000 (our current altitude). The controller then advised that everyone on
the frequency would be landing 14L, and that O'Hare had "just lost a
runway".
It didn't take us more than about 5 minutes to be vectored to 14L, and the
visibility was being reported as more than 6000 RVR. I was the non-flying
pilot and saw the approach lights 100 feet above DH (DH was 200 feet as we
were now flying a CAT I approach), and the runway 50 feet above DH. The
visibility was actually quite good below the overcast.
One factor that might be important: about the time of the accident the fog
was rapidly burning off. We were looking right into the sun through the
fog on 14L.
BTW- The wing did not fall off. The landing gear collapsed and the number
1 engine came off its pod. Apparently one slide did also not properly
inflate. I saw the airplane sitting there hours later - incredible. It
really messed up things at O'Hare for a while - I got home 2 hours late :(
Hilton Goldstein
JFLEISC wrote:
>
> Anyone know anything, or any details about a "crash landing" of an AA plane ‘AA
> flight 1340 Kansas to Chicago’ where someone said the wing subsequently fell
> off?
An engine fell off, not the wing (I saw it on CNN last night).
** 02/10/98 Preliminary Accident/Incident Data Record RECORD 1 **
A. Type: Accident Mid Air:N Missing:N Entry date: 02/10/98
From: GREAT LAKES REGION OPERATIONS CENTER
B. Reg.No.: AAL1340 M/M: B727 Desc: MODEL 727
Activity: Business Phase: Landing GA-A/C: Air Carrier
Descr: AMERICAN AIRLINES ACFT LANDED APPROXIMATELY 200 YARDS SHORT OF
THE
RWY AND STRUCK APPROACH LIGHTS, THE ACFT CAME TO REST ABOUT 2,500
FEET DOWN THE RWY AND ABOUT 60 YARDS TO THE RIGHT OF THE RWY, THE
LANDING GEAR AND NUMBER ONE ENGINE SUSTAINED DAMAGE, NO INJURIES
WERE REPORTED, O'HARE ARPT, CHICAGO, IL.
WX: ORD SPECI 1538Z 16004KTS 1/2SM FZFG VV001 M02/M02 A3010 Damage:
Substantial
C2. Injury Data: # Crew: 6 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 115 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 UNK:
D. Location City: CHICAGO State: IL
E. Occ Date: 02/09/98 Time: 15:54
F. Invest Coverage. IIC: Reg/DO: GL31 DO CTY: CHICAGO
DO State: IL Others: NTSB
G. Flt Handling. Dep Pt: KANSAS CITY, MO Dep Date: 02/09/98
Time:
Dest: CHICAGO, IL Last Radio Cont: UNKN Flt Plan: IFR
Last Clearance: CLRD TO LAND WX Briefing: Y
--
Hilton Goldstein.............................hilton@sgi.com
650-933-5254 (phone).....................(fax) 650-390-6159
M/S 1L-945, 2011 N. Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043
http://reality.sgi.com/hilton
If you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?
Chad Kintz
In article <01bd364d$b9ec6160$1aa36bc7@mmrogers>, mmro...@tcsn.net
says...
> Actually, the weather was only CAT II, and it was rapidly improving.
Well, I guess that shows you how many CAT II's and III's I shoot <g>.--
C.K.