Accident description
| Status: | Final |
| Date: | 03 DEC 1990 |
| Time: | 13:45 EST |
| Type: | Boeing 727-251 |
| Operator: | Northwest Airlines |
| Registration: | N278US |
| C/n / msn: | 21157/1173 |
| First flight: | 1975-11-07 (15 years 1 month) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 37310 |
| Cycles: | 27933 |
| Engines: | 3 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15A |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 146 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 154 |
| Airplane damage: | Substantial |
| Airplane fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW) (United States of America)  |
| Phase: | Takeoff (TOF) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW) (DTW/KDTW), United States of America |
| Memphis International Airport, TN (MEM) (MEM/KMEM), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | 299 |
Northwest Airlines Flight 1482, a DC-9 bound for Pittsburgh received clearance to taxi from Gate C18 to runway 03C via taxiway Oscar 6, Foxtrot and Xray, at 13:35. In dense fog (about 1/4mile visibility) the crew missed the Oscar 6 taxiway and entered the Outer taxiway. Ground control then instructed them to head for Oscar 4 and make a right turn onto Xray. At the Oscar 4 intersection NW1482 turned right, but entered the active runway 03C instead of taxiway Xray.
Suddenly both pilots found out they had taxied the wrong way, and contacted ground control. When ground control found out that NW1482 was on the active runway, the crew were told to leave that runway immediately. About 5 seconds later the DC-9 crew saw a Boeing 727 coming right at them.
The Boeing 727 (Northwest Fight 299 to Memphis) had just received take-off clearance and was traveling at a speed of over 100 knots when the collision took place.
The 727's right wingtip was sheared off when striking the right-hand side of the DC-9. The remainder of the wing cut through the fuselage just below the bottom of the windows and cut off the no. 2 engine. A fire erupted in the DC-9 which caused the fuselage to burn out from just aft of the cockpit to just forward of the aft bulkhead. The Boeing 727 didn't catch fire but just sustained damage to the left wing .
PROBABLE CAUSE:"A lack of proper crew coordination, including a virtual reversal of roles by the DC-9 pilots, which led to their failure to stop taxiing their airplane and alert the ground controller of their positional uncertainty in a timely manner before and after intruding onto the active runway.
Contributing to the cause of the accident were (1) deficiencies in the air traffic control services provided by the Detroit tower, including failure of the ground controller to take timely action to alert the local controller to the possible runway incursion, inadequate visibility observations, failure to use progressive taxi instructions in low-visibility conditions, and issuance of inappropriate and confusing taxi instructions compounded by inadequate backup supervision for the level of experience of the staff on duty; (2) deficiencies in the surface markings, signage, and lighting at the airport and the failure of Federal Aviation Administration surveillance to detect or correct any of these deficiencies; and (3) failure of Northwest Airlines, Inc., to provide adequate cockpit resource management training to their line aircrews.
Contributing to the fatalities in the accident was the inoperability of the DC-9 internal tail cone release mechanism. Contributing to the number and severity of injuries was the failure of the crew of the DC-9 to properly execute the passenger evacuation." (NTSB) Events:
Sources:
» ICAO Adrep 3/94 (#88)
» NTSB/AAR-91/05
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW) (DTW/KDTW) to Memphis International Airport, TN (MEM) (MEM/KMEM) as the crow flies is 976 km (610 miles).
Distance from Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW) (DTW/KDTW) to Memphis International Airport, TN (MEM) (MEM/KMEM) as the crow flies is 976 km (610 miles).
