| Northwest Airlines Flight 1482Northwest Airlines Flight 299 | |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Summary: | Runway collision in fog due to pilot and ATC error, in addition to poor taxiway conditions |
| Site: | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Michigan |
| Total Injuries: | 10 |
| Total Fatalities: | 8 |
| Total Survivors: | 190 |
| Plane1 Image: | File:N Northwest AL DC9-10 N3313L DFW Oct90.jpg |
| Plane1 Caption: | N3313L, the Northwest Airlines Douglas DC-9-14 involved, seen at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in 1990 in a previous livery |
| Plane1 Type: | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 |
| Plane1 Operator: | Northwest Airlines |
| Plane1 Tailnum: | N3313L |
| Plane1 Iata: | NW1482 |
| Plane1 Icao: | NWA1482 |
| Plane1 Callsign: | NORTHWEST 1482 |
| Plane1 Origin: | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Michigan |
| Plane1 Destination: | Pittsburgh International Airport |
| Plane1 Occupants: | 44 |
| Plane1 Passengers: | 40 |
| Plane1 Crew: | 4 |
| Plane1 Injuries: | 10 |
| Plane1 Fatalities: | 8 |
| Plane1 Survivors: | 36 |
| Plane2 Image: | Boeing 727-251-Adv, Northwest Airlines AN0213040.jpg |
| Plane2 Caption: | The accident aircraft in December 1993 after repair and return to service |
| Plane2 Type: | Boeing 727-251-Adv |
| Plane2 Operator: | Northwest Airlines |
| Plane2 Tailnum: | N278US |
| Plane2 Iata: | NW299 |
| Plane2 Icao: | NWA299 |
| Plane2 Callsign: | NORTHWEST 299 |
| Plane2 Origin: | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Michigan |
| Plane2 Destination: | Memphis International Airport, Tennessee |
| Plane2 Occupants: | 154 |
| Plane2 Passengers: | 146 |
| Plane2 Crew: | 8 |
| Plane2 Injuries: | 0 |
| Plane2 Fatalities: | 0 |
| Plane2 Survivors: | 154 |
On December 3, 1990, two Northwest Airlines jetliners collided at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Flight 1482, a scheduled Douglas DC-9-14 operating from Detroit to Pittsburgh International Airport, taxied by mistake onto an active runway in dense fog and was hit by a departing Boeing 727 operating as Flight 299 to Memphis International Airport. One member of the crew and seven passengers of the DC-9 were killed.[1] [2]
Northwest Airlines Flight 1482, a Douglas DC-9-14, was cleared from the gate toward Runway 03C, but it missed turning onto Taxiway Oscar6 and instead entered the outer taxiway. To correct the error, the crew was instructed to turn right onto Taxiway X-ray, but they instead turned onto the active runway, 03C. They realized the mistake and contacted air traffic control, which instructed them to leave the runway immediately.
Five seconds later (at 13:45 EST), the crew saw the Boeing 727, Northwest Flight 299 to Memphis, heading toward them on its takeoff roll. The 727's wing cut through the right side of the DC-9's fuselage just below the windows, then continued aft, finally cutting off the DC-9's right side (#2) engine. The DC-9 caught fire and was destroyed.[3]
The captain of the DC-9 escaped from the aircraft through the left sliding window. Eighteen people escaped the plane from the left overwing exit, 13 people escaped through the left main boarding door and four people jumped from the right service door. The rear jumpseat flight attendant and a passenger died from smoke inhalation in the DC-9's tail cone; the tail cone release was not activated. Later, an investigation determined that the release mechanism was mechanically inoperable.[1]
Of the surviving passengers, the NTSB stated that 10 received serious injuries and 23 received minor or no injuries. The three surviving crew members received minor or no injuries. The NTSB added that it did not receive medical records for three passengers who were admitted to a burn center; for purposes of the report, the NTSB labeled their injuries as serious. The NTSB also did not receive medical records for the copilot and six passengers who were treated and released from area hospitals; for the purposes of the report, the NTSB assumed that they had received minor injuries.[1]
After the collision, the 727 flight crew immediately initiated a rejected takeoff and was able to stop the aircraft safely on the remaining runway.[1] The captain then shut down all three engines and ascertained that no one on board had been injured and that the aircraft was only lightly damaged. Deciding that no immediate danger existed, he did not order an emergency evacuation, and the passengers and crew deplaned using the rear airstair after the aircraft was sprayed with fire retardant foam as a precaution.[1] The 727 sustained a damaged wing and was later repaired.[4]
The DC-9 operating Flight 1482, registered as N3313L, was built in 1966 and had a total of 62,253 operating hours. The plane was delivered new to Delta, which sold it to Southern Airways in 1973. It became part of Northwest's fleet after the 1986 acquisition of Southern's successor, Republic Airlines.[1] It was declared a total loss and scrapped following this accident. The crew consisted of Captain William Lovelace (52), who had logged 23,000 flight hours with 4,000 hours in the DC-9, and First Officer James Schifferns (43), who had logged 4,685 flight hours with 185 hours in the DC-9.[1]
The Boeing 727 operating Flight 299 was registered N278US and had been delivered to Northwest in 1975. It had 37,310 operating hours. The aircraft was repaired and continued in service for Northwest until 1995. N278US was flown by Kitty Hawk Aircargo before being scrapped in 2011.[1] The crew consisted of Captain Robert Ouellette (42), who had logged 10,400 flight hours with 5,400 hours on the 727, First Officer William Hagedorn (37), who had logged 5,400 flight hours with 2,350 hours on the 727, and Flight Engineer Darren Owen (31), who had logged 3,300 flight hours with 900 hours on the 727.[1]
The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, which determined the probable cause of the accident to be:
The accident is featured in the fourth episode of Season 20 of Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation. The episode is titled "Taxiway Turmoil."[5]