- Date
- May 15, 1991, 08:13 local (13:13 UTC)
- Place
- Nashville, TN
- Injuries
- 138 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N882AABoeing 727-223
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 8345
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
The captain's failure to maintain a proper glide path after disconnection of the autopilot during the final approach. Factors in this accident were: the captain's failure to follow company procedures for category ii approaches, the first officer's failure to adequately monitor the approach during the final phase, prior to touchdown, and the low visibility at the time of the accident.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Flt 1206 was on final for a cat ii ILS rwy 2L apch. The last rprtd RVR prior to landing was 700 ft, & 1200 ft RVR was rprtd as the flt crossed the outer marker. Minimums for the apch were 1200 ft RVR. On short final, the capt saw apch lights & disconnected the autopilot as the acft dscndd below 200 ft AGL. The acft touched down 408 ft short of the rwy threshold, damaging the apch lighting sys & the acft. Dfdr readout revealed the acft rate of dscnt increased from 720 fpm to 1400 fpm after the autopilot was disconnected, while airspeed remained constant. Inspn of the acft nav equip & arpt nav aids revealed no evidence of malfunction. Although the capt stated that he had the apch lights visually, he was unaware the acft had landed short. The flt engineer stated he felt the acft had indeed landed short. The capt disconnected the autopilot at about 200 feet AGL, although company procedures required use of the autopilot down to decision height (100 ft AGL).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N882AA
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-223
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21521
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- American Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- MSY · New Orleans, LA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BNA · Nashville International, runway 2L, 7,702 × 150 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,542 total · 1,542 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 20° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BNA, 1 nm away