- Date
- October 14, 1984, 04:09 local (08:09 UTC)
- Place
- Erie, PA
- Injuries
- 77 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N965VJMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- FAA report
- 19841014077099I
- Case key
- 15840
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
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
The orig destn was youngstown, OH, but its wx was blo mins, so the flt to transport a football team was planned to Erie which was slightly above mins. The coach & business manager were not happy about this, but plans were made to bus the team on to youngstown. En route, the manager occupied a jumpseat in the cockpit in violation of 14 CFR 121. The wx at Erie deteriorated to 100' obscd & 1/4 mi vis with fog. The crew entered holding without clnc to wait for the wx to improve. They elected to make an ILS apch (mins 200' cig & 1/2 mi vis) & left the holding pattern without clnc. At aprx 2800', radar contact with ATC was lost, but they received an above mins wx report fm the station agent & contd the apch without an ATC clnc. They did not activate the apch lgts. At the dh, the coplt said 'I don't have it', but the capt saw lgts to his left & contd the landing. The acft landed on soft gnd beside the rwy & rolled to a stop with minor dmg. Rwy lgts at step 1 instead of 2 due to a wiring prblm. Capt was on duty aprx 15 hrs, awake 19.5 hrs. 2 emerg slides malf.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N965VJ
- Reported as
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47374
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-7A, 46,250 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- US Air
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- Nashville, TN
- Destination
- ERI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ERI · Erie Int'L, runway 24, 6,500 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 48
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15,556 total · 5,000 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 180° at 4 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ERI, 3 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N965VJ · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.