LAX82IA075

NTSB incident investigation · Boeing B737-2H4 · Ontario, CA · February 16, 1982

Incident · No injuriesIncident investigationFinal report
Date
February 15, 1982, 21:04 local (Feb 16, 1982, 05:04 UTC)
Place
Ontario, CA
Injuries
119 uninjured
Damage
Minor damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N73717Boeing B737-2H4
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Status
Completed · report February 15, 1983
Report
Approved by Office Director
Case key
72093

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.

In flight collision with objectApproach - faf/outer marker to threshold (ifr)
Approach aids,ils glide slope - inoperativeFactor
Ifr procedure - improperCopilot/second pilotCause
Weather condition - low ceilingFactor
Weather condition - fogFactor
Weather condition - rainFactor
Object - wire,transmissionFactor
Proper altitude - belowCopilot/second pilotCause
Supervision - inadequatePilot in commandCause
Flight advisories - not issuedAtc personnel(dep/apch)Factor
Facility,inadequate instrument locationAtc personnel(dep/apch)Factor
Missed approach - performedPilot in commandFactor
Landing gear,anti-skid brake system - otherFactor
PerformedPilot in commandFactor
OverrunLanding - roll
Landing gear,normal brake system - failure,totalCause
Thrust reverser - failure,totalCause

Analysis

Because the glide slope had been removed from service, air cal flight 754 was vectored by the Ontario TRACON 'n' controller for a localizer only approach to runway 26L. The first officer stated he descended to 1,200 ft after passing the faf/om. The captain then told him to hold his altitude because he was in the process of identifying the location of bakes intersection(1,500 ft MSL must be maintained until passing bakes). Shortly after this the aircraft collided with a powerline about 3 miles from the approach end of 26L and 1.7 miles before reaching bakes. The crew then performed a missed approach and diverted to los angeles international where the aircraft proceeded to run off the runway due to loss of effective braking and reverse thrust. Controllers handling the flight stated they saw a minimum safe altitude warning (msaw) for the flight just prior to air cal but did not see or hear an alert for flight 754. Information on the continuous disc recording showed that an msaw was sounded for both aircraft.

Aircraft

Registration
N73717
Reported as
Boeing B737-2H4
Category
Airplane
Serial number
20345
Engine
P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo jet
Damage
Minor damage
Flight
Part 121
Operator
Aircal
Registered owner
Connecticut Bank & Trust Co.
Departed
OAK · Oakland, CA
Destination
Mccollum, GA
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
ONT · Ontario International

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
41
Certificates
Airline transport, Flight instructor
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Flight hours
9,950 total · 2,780 in this make and model · 159 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Wind
200° at 7 knots
Visibility
2 statute miles
Temperature
136 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
ONT

Other investigations on N73717 · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.