- Date
- October 9, 1987, 12:05 local (19:05 UTC)
- Place
- Ontario, CA
- Injuries
- 79 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N413AAMcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 25871
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
Failure of the general aviation aircraft to visually identify the transport aircraft. Factures contributing to the incident were: failure of the general aviaiton aircraft to establish communications with ATC prior to entering the arsa and maintaining a poor lookout.
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 climbing thru 6,500 feet MSL in an arsa, the flt crew of the aal DC-9-82 observed a small aircraft approaching their aircraft from dead ahead. The small aircraft was at the same altitude and aprox 1/4 mile ahead of their position. The small aircraft was not communicating with ATC and continued its collision course towards the transport aircraft. The DC-9-82 crew initiated a right climbing turn away from the small aircraft. The crew estimated that the small aircraft passed 50 feet below and to the left of their aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N413AA
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 49324
- Engine
- P&W J8D, 20,550 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines, Inc., doing business as American Airlines
- Registered owner
- Wimington Trust Company Truste
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- ONT · Ontario, CA
- Destination
- DFW · Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ONT · Ontario, runway 26, 12,200 × 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
- 42
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 1,930 in this make and model · 150 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ONT, 7 nm away