- Date
- June 23, 1985, 17:08 local (21:08 UTC)
- Place
- South Haven, MI
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor, 71 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1965Boeing 727N1200LCessna 421C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850623075809A
- Case key
- 12845
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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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
While en route on an IFR flt plan (1st officer at ctls), American flt 803 (a Boeing 727, N1965) bgn a dscnt fm FL 190 TO9000'. The seat belt sign was turned on at 18,000'. While dscndg btn cld layers, at aprx 13,000 to 12,000', the capt sawa Cessna 421C, N1200L, converging fm opposite drctn. He took ctl & 'executed a hard nose over' to avoid a collision. Thecessna plt rprtd he was cruising in VFR conds at 12,500' when he saw the Boeing dscndg out of scat clds. He bgn dscndg, then entered an abrupt clbg turn to avoid colliding. Rprtdly, the acft passed each other w/i 50 to 100'. An unrestrainedpax & 1 flt atndnt (fa) were seriously injured; 2 fa's received minor injuries. After lndg, wrinkles & skin dmg were fndon the Cessna's horizontal stabilizers. The Cessna plt was using his #2 transponder (xp); ARTCC was receiving its reply intermittently; it was fnd transmitting 3 mhz (max lmt) abv the desired freq. On 4/12/84, xp's were chkd & written up as'#2 off freq high.' After the nr collision, the ARTCC ctlr noted the 'all primary' feature of his radar was not in use.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N1965
- Reported as
- Boeing 727
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19839
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-7, 15,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines, Inc., doing business as Dallas-Ft Worth Airport
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- ORD · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- GRR · Grand Rapids, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
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.
- Registration
- N1200L
- Reported as
- Cessna 421C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 421C-1257
- Airframe hours
- 378
- Engine
- Continental GTSIO-520-N, 375 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael R. Meyers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · October 1, 1984 · 138 hours before
- Departed
- DET · Detroit, MI
- Destination
- DPA · West Chicago, IL
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N1965
- Age
- 50
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 4,500 in this make and model
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N1200L
- Age
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,640 total · 408 in this make and model · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.