Seventy-two persons on board the aircraft and one person on the ground were killed in the accident. I know that neither of those>approaches are in Jeppesen Manuals - at least not the ones I have ->nor are they in the NOS plates.>>KRC>, >Well KRC, this person (who calls himself Eduardo Valenciana, BTW) is making>other oddball and presumably untrue statments like>>"the other crew member is F/A Donald Richards whom I pulled out of the>wreckage. I spoke to Chip while he was recovering in the hospital after the crash, and he remembered very little, only a few snippets about his personal experiences. 26 (Circular 173-AN/109). [16], 26 UPI. The aircraft touched down with the left main gear in the grass left of 23L and with the right main gear on the runway shoulder. Weather conditions were deteriorating during Flight 2605's instrument approach. He's heading that way. Lots of yelling, profanity ect. Linked below is the website created by Eduardo Valenciana, one of two surviving f/a's. Aviation accidents and incidents in Mexico, International Civil Aviation Organization, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740, Airliner accidents and incidents involving fog, Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, Airliner accidents and incidents involving ground collisions, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Crashed into construction equipment during landing on a closed runway, 3 passengers in intensive care at American British Cowdray Hospital, 9 passengers in satisfactory condition at American British Cowdray Hospital, 5 passengers already released from other hospitals after first-aid treatment. 2605 I participated in an indepth investigation by ABC News 20/20 along with retired WAL Captain Ralph Baxter. The collision with the truck, which was loaded with 10 tonnes of earth, removed the right landing gear leg with part or sections of the main gear beam to which it is attached, bursting three of the four tires. A spokesman for the control tower union, Roberto Kobeh, blamed the pilot for the crash. However, the controllers did not use any phrases indicative of a sidestep maneuver that would have been familiar to American pilots. To me, Eddy was clearly deeply affected by being a survivor, needed to talk, and I sensed no ego or pride in his story. Thirty days, After thecrash, the FAA went to Mexico and along side La Officina De NavagacionEspacio Mexicana, developed a side step manuver for U.S. pilots into BenitoJuarez Airport. In the accident case, the Mexico City chart for runway 23 right contained only ceiling and visibility minima. The airplane operated on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX) to Mexico City-Benito Jurez International . [7] Nine of 11 crewmembers, 63 of 77 passengers died; thus 72 fatalities of the 88 aboard the plane. Thus this document shows 72 fatalities from the plane. Pedro Jose, a surviving passenger, said: It was a normal flight all the way from Los Angeles up to Mexico City airport. Aftermath: Wrong Runway Landing, Flying, Dec 1983, p. To see this page as it is meant to appear, please enable your Javascript! I did not see any wounds. [citation needed] Accident details Mexico City International Airport has two runways: Runway 23 Left (23L), and Runway 23 Right (23R). Before today, I've only seen one black and white picture from above of what remained of the crushed DC-10. Last week, before he took off at 12:50 a.m. from Los Angeles in command of Flight 2605, the "Night Owl," carrying 13 crew members and 75 passengers, he was reminded that he had to land on. Aftermath: Wrong Runway Landing, Flying, Dec 1983, pp. The Mexico centre had cleared the crew to approach Mexico City via Tepexpan, subsequently instructing the aircraft crew to change frequency to the control tower. Washington, DC: NTSB, File 1-0026, no date. Ground fatalities were reported as being just one (the driver of the truck parked on Runway 23L) to as many as three (the driver and two people in the Eastern Airlines building). Flight 2605 was on short final to the closed runway at 5:42 AM. Weather conditions were deteriorating during Flight 2605's instrument approach. 3, No. Accessed 10-5-2016 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Airlines_Flight_2605. Of the 89 people on board, 72 were killed in the crash.Western Airlines Flight 2605 Cockpit Voice Recorder ( CVR)Watch: The Story of Man Who Hasn't Slept for 50 Years! The bank angle increased until the right wing flap struck the cab of an excavator 1,500 meters from the runway threshold. 106. So much we've learned thankfullly! 2605, a McDonnell Douglas registration N903WA, owned by had taken off from Los Angeles International Airport, California, Western Airlines Inc. , The Mexico centre had for Mexico City, D.F. ASN Narrative: Flight 2605 departed Los Angeles at 01:40 for a flight to Mexico City. Contact me to view an 18 minute indepth coverage of the crash details. We know that a truck driver was also killed on the ground. Passengers have taken to Twitter to express their frustration with delayed flights, poor customer service, and unclear communication. On October 31, 1979, at 5:42a.m. CST (UTC06:00), the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed at Mexico City International Airport in fog after landing on a runway that was closed for maintenance. The transcription of the magnetic tape which contains the communications between the control tower operator and the crew of aircraft N-903WA reveals that at one point the control tower operator asked the pilot whether he could see the approach lights on his left, to which the pilot replied negative. Rafael Martinez, 31, a Mexican resident of Los Angeles, died Sunday [Nov 18] at the American British Cowdray Hospital from multiple injuries he suffered in the Oct. 31 crash, hospital spokesmen said Monday. It seems that 'Spooky' is retired. On the morning of October 31, 1979 the jumbo jet was on final approach at Benito Juarez International Airport at Mexico City and things were about to go very wrong. I'm not surprised you have no info.a cover-up is just that. 101-109.). On October 31, 1979, at 5:42 a.m. the flight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Airlines_Flight_2605. Chip was not mobile due to a leg injury, so Eddy had to help him out. Just 30 minutes ago I got yet another e-mail he claims theMexicans kidnapped him and beat him. 36L, the>principal GA runway, doesn't have ILS, so pilots will shoot the ILS to>36R and break off short to land on 36L. Ask?..No, it was not pilot error.". Accident, incident and crash related photos, Air to Air History of the Flight Flight No. Inside the plane there was a lot of fire and a lot of dead people. The procedure is shown as a straight-in approach to an adjacent runway, as a circling approach to the sidestep runway, or as a note at the bottom of the chart giving ceiling and visibility minima. It appears that only one person was killed on the ground a local truck driver. These charts should clearly indicate the airport approach plan view, the profile view, and the landing minima required. One part of the DC-10's left wing travelled well off airport grounds, impacting a residential building on Matamoros Street in the Pen de los Baoscoloniaand causing a fire there as well. Accessed 10-7-2016 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=8BVI6sNpT4wC&pg=PA100#v=onepage&q&f=false, Gepfert, Ken (Los Angeles Times). [1] While there are a number of estimates of 74 or 75 fatalities, these are all from newspaper reports and could well reflect that early reports included the deaths of two or three locals on the ground. The flight had been assigned to runway 23R, but touched down on runway 23L, which was closed for refurbishing. Of the 17 surviving passengers, 15 were injured. At the time of the accident, runway 23L had fullinstrument approachequipment, including anInstrument Landing System (ILS), while Runway 23R did not. I knew one of the surviving FAs, Donald (Chip) Richards, before the crash, and I met the other FA survivor, Eddy (Eduardo) Valencia, in the LAX FA lounge after the crash, where he told me his experiences--before, during and after the crash--in great detail. As long as the gullible public will hit on your site ------------------------------------------------------------------------|Rich Ahrens | Homepage: http://www.visi.com/~rma/ ||r@visi.com |-----------------------------------------------||"In a world full of people only some want to fly - isn't that crazy?" Letter to FAA. NTSB Safety Recommendation A-80-59 and -60: On October 31, 1979, Western Airlines, Inc., McDonnell Douglass DC-10-10, N-903WA, crashed at Mexico City International Airport, Mexico. Western 2605 The most comprehensive description and analysis by far is in the December 1983 issue of Flying magazine pages 100 to 107. http://books.google.com/books?id=8BV.page&q&f=false Cheers! The cockpit voice recording of the last seconds of the flight indicates that the first officer and captain agreed that they were cleared for 23R, though they were still on approach to 23L. [15] Cites EXC-AEE (1979-11-06). 11-1-1979, A12. Part of the DC-10's left wing traveled well off airport grounds, impacting a residential building on Matamoros Street in the Pen de los Baos colonia, causing a fire there too. John Mazor wrote in message <7gn32l$ua$1@autumn.news.rcn.net> John Mazor wrote in message <7gnkn0$2go$1@autumn.news.rcn.net> Donald Richards died in the crash. Confusion Over Runways Caused DC-10 Crash. Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN, 11-1-1979, p. 21. It's not likely from his comments to date that Dan has ever flown into, I thought it was complete BS from the first e-mail. Place of residence (not necessarily the nationality) are provided for most of those listed. My left hand and my foot is burned and my shoulder is dislocated. [11], 73 UPI. About 0541 Mexican Central Time Western Airlines DC-10 Flight 2605 was making an approach to the airport in reported VFR conditions when it touched down on the dirt on the left of the edge of Runway 23 Left, which was closed to traffic. Their conclusion? The fate of the others was not immediately known. This final impact caused the structural breakup of the aircraft, heavily damaged the two story reinforced concrete building, and caused a fire that consumed most of the aircraft structure. Letter to FAA, 7-14-1980. He remembers nothing. The rest were identified by nationality. According to our analysis, Afriqiyah Airways is the most hated airline in Libya. Go-around power was added and the nose lifted 10-11deg. Update now. Western Airlines 2605 is a crash that sticks out in my mind as one of the most mysterious accidents of all time, as comparatively little about the accident itself has been released to the public. Western Airlines Flight 2605, nicknamed the "Night Owl", was an international scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to Mexico City, Mexico. I've never seen pics from this crash at allamazing how much wreckage there is! WA 2605, A 35 AOS DEL PEOR ACCIDENTE AREO EN LA CIUDAD DE MXICO Hopefully this accident is featured on one of the future Air Crash Investigation episodes on Discovery channel. Eddy said he experienced the crash in slow motion and somehow felt taken care of during it, as if he would be okay. Confusion Over Runways Caused DC-10 Crash. Pharos-Tribune, 11-1-1979, p.21. Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR, Military Aircraft Western Airlines Flight 2605, nicknamed the "Night Owl", [2] was an international scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to Mexico City, Mexico. As go-around power was being added, the aircraft's right main landing gear collided with a parked truck, separated, and hit the right tailplane and elevator. :106 On October 19, 1979, a notice to airmen was issued stating that Runway 23L would be closed until further notice for resurfacing work. However, I can share the experiences that he and Chip shared with me soon after the crash. Yes they didn't make the sidestep to the active runway but they didn't even land on the closed runway, instead contacting the ground with one main gear off the runway in the grass. Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! Last I heard, he is an F/A for Delta in Portland,", Donald Richards died on board. The same building was later turned into a temporary morgue. (UPI. The horizontal shaft which carries the two front wheels and the associated brake units also broke off and were projected forward over a distance of over 400 m. After breaking off, the right landing gear leg struck the right tailplane and elevator, severing the two almost completely. Navigation error blamed in Antarctic crash. Lawrence Journal-World, KS, 11-29-1979, p. 2. As a passengerand paying customeryou have rights when your trip is delayed or canceled. Western Airlines Flight 2605 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City. History of the Flight. Accessed 10-7-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1979/12-15?tag, United Press International, Mexico City. 28 U.S. deaths. All of the foregoing recommendations addressed two basic issues our belief that insufficient attention is given to human performance criteria in the development of approach procedures and in the process for reviewing the approach procedure depiction on the approach charts both of which are deficiencies that can lead to confusion and mistakes by the pilot users. I was riding shotgun in a Bonanza>several years ago, and we did one at Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma>City - we used the ILS for 17L right down to about 1/2 mile out, then>split off and landed on 17R. Western Airlines Flight 2605, nicknamed the "Night Owl", was an international scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City, Mexico. Oct 31, AP: Mexico City (AP) A Western Airlines DC-10 jetliner bound from Los Angeles with 88 persons reported aboard crashed while landing in fog and smog at the Mexico City airport today, plowing into two buildings, and Red Cross officials at the scene said they had recovered 55 bodies from the wreckage. I liked and trusted each of them very much. A primary point of disagreement between the official ICAO report and the ALPA study was the wording and description of the failed sidestep approach to Runway 23R. The impact of the landing gear shattered the truck, fatally injuring its driver, and creating a debris field 400m by 100m in area. Western Airlines Flight 2605 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to Mexico City, Mexico. Before that time not such manuver was ever recorded in theJepsen Maunal or anywhere else to any U.S. airline.". Pilots have been criticized for misinterpreting approach charts and approach procedures, with little consideration given to the operating environment in which the procedures and charts are used and the degree to which these procedures and charts themselves may be conducive to error. As it touched down, the airplane clipped a loaded dumptruck parked on a closed runway. The tower operator informed the crew that the runway in use was 23 Right and provided the crew with information on the weather conditions prevailing at Mexico City International Airport, and landing data. [13] Notes 11 crew deaths and 2 crew minor/no injuries; 61 passenger fatalities, 13 serious injured and 2 with minor/no injuries. At 0542 h on 31 October 1979, Western Airlines Flight 2605, a DC-10 aircraft, crashed while landing on Runway 23 Left at Licenciado Benito Jurez International Airport, Mexico City. DC-10 crash: Another black eye for manufacturer. 11-29-1979, 40. DC-10 Passenger List. Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA. The investigation found that the crew had not complied with theestablished procedure for the side-step approach, which mandated amissed approach if the runway could not be seen from an altitude of600' AGL. We were close, but when the company>paraded us around the system in a "dog & pony show," other crew members were>quick to cataterize us as "hero" and "the one that got pulled out." The moron>obviously doesn't know much about aviation, as it's a Jeppesen Manual,>not Jepsen. This was not fair to Donald, "Chip," as he>is known. One person on the ground was fatally injured. Error appears to be in noting two deaths on the ground. Further, it indicated that landing on the closed 23L required only that the crew continue their current flight path, which was a straight-in ILS approach to 23L. Accessed 10-6-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1979/11-02/page-38?tag, United Press International, Mexico City. [2], 75 UPI, Mexico. I had read the following a week or two ago. As a result of the investigation, the Safety Board recommended that the FAA require separate standardized instrument approach charts for sidestep maneuver approaches. Western Airlines Flight 2605. 10-5-2016 modification. While we did not double-check by name in obituaries all the deceased, we did do so for a handful, and the reporting by name in the AP article was correct for them. To accomplish this, the crew would follow the ILS glide path toward Runway 23L, and as soon as they sighted the runway, they would reorient the aircraft to land on 23R. The October 31, 1979 flight left Los Angeles International Airport at 1:40 a.m. PST ( UTC08:00 ), and was scheduled to land well before sunrise in Mexico City. Safety Recommendation(s) A-80-59 and -60. Mexico Jet-Crash Toll Rises to 74. Toledo Blade, OH, 11-1-1979, p. Navigation error blamed in Antarctic crash. Lawrence Journal-World, 11-29-79, p2.[5]. The two front times came off the wheels, whose hubs disintegrated, scattering pieces away from the aircraft. how many separate units in the building renters insurance; cafe de marco twilight specials menu. 26 1979 Accidents, No. Following are the names of 60 passengers and 11 crew members. The event is the third-deadliest aviation accident on Mexican soil after the crashes of two Boeing 727s: the 1969 crash of Mexicana de Aviacin Flight 704 and that of Mexicana de Aviacin Flight 940 in 1986. Garrison, Peter. 72 NTSB. Aircraft Accident Digest No. The recommendations required explicit published runway-approach procedures for airport approaches involving sidesteps and distribution of documentation of sidestep-approach procedures in general. No U.S. investigator was allowed on the crash site nor allowed to investigate the wreckage or airport facilities. :102, The damaged aircraft, still airborne with takeoff thrust engaged, began to roll to the right. 22 Oct 1952 - 31 Oct 1979. Last I heard, he is an F/A for Delta in Portland,">>Donald Richards died on board. 3 Washington (Auburn {1} and Seattle {2}). On October 31, 1979, the aircraft used for the flight, a McDonnell Douglas. Accessed 10-7-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/ohio/east-liverpool/east-liverpool-evening-review/1979/11-20?tag. On October 31, 1979, at 5:42 a.m. the flight crashed at Mexico City International Airport in fog, after landing on a runway closed for maintenance. It was not the control towers fault.. Aircraft Accident Digest No. [21] Another UPI article datelined Mexico City, Nov 2, also writes that two people were killed on the ground the truck driver and a night watchman died on the ground. (UPI. Confusion Over Runways Caused DC-10 Crash. Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN, 11-1-1979, p. The aircraft involved was a wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10, registered N903WA. Mexico City International Airport was forced to close to flights temporarily, and 2,000 people were reported to have traveled to the airport to view the crash site and wreckage on Friday, November 2. The Safety Board believes that it is the obligation of the developers of approach procedures and charts to incorporate human factors considerations into their design so that the possibility for pilot confusion, misinterpretation, or error is eliminated. (NTSB Safety Recommendation(s) A-82-91 through -93, p. Investigators probe DC-10 crash site. The Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, IL, 11-2-1979, p. 2-7. Among the places of residence can be counted 34 in the United States mostly California. The aircraft banked to the right until it struck the left wing struck the cab of an excavator, 1500 m from the runway threshold, continued and crashed into a building and caught fire. It was a pilot error. 21. If you wish to view this informative episode you may contact me at. During the approach, the crew were advised four times by approach control or the tower that the intended landing runway was 23R. This meant that the flight was to follow the instrument landing system's glide path toward Runway 23L, and, as soon as they sighted Runway 23R through the cockpit window, they would reorient their aircraft to land on it instead. Over the years, two threads have attempted to shed more light on the accident. Confusion Over Runways Caused DC-10 Crash. Pharos-Tribune, 11-1-1979, p.21. We know that one flight 2605 survivor died on Nov 18. What Happened to Flight 2605?" It was painted with Western Airlines's "DC-10 Spaceship" livery. Upon entering the runway, theWAL crew went to full power and initiated a go-around. Of the 88 people on board, 72 were killed in the crash; and one person on the ground, a maintenance worker, also died when the plane struck his vehicle. I just saw that the plane was tilted a little bit toward the right, and it touched down with the right tire. Here's a scan of an article from Flying Magazine, the occasion being ALPA investigation into this crash (article begins on page 100, also at one point it breaks and continues after several pages of classified ads): Just as a point of interest, C Gilbert the Capt had was a Marine in the Pacific during WWll.