- Date
- January 18, 1990, 06:47 local (11:47 UTC)
- Place
- Philadelphia, PA
- Injuries
- 44 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N405EAMcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900118064819I
- Case key
- 36556
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 flight crew of EAL121 taking off on a taxiway. Contributing was failure of the flight crew of eal 121 to maintain an adequate visual lookout during taxi and takeoff.
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 DC 9 was observed to takeoff on a taxiway by personnel in the control tower. The takeoff was corroborated by radar data from the airport and a readout of the flight data recorder. The takeoff occurred just prior to the start of civil twilight in the morning. The runway has white centerline markings, white edge lighting, and white markings. The taxiway had yellow markings and green centerline lighting. The captain said he remembered white centerline lighting. The copilot said he saw the centerline lights and believed they were white.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N405EA
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47688
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-17, 16,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Eastern Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- ATL · Atlanta, GA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- PHL · Philadelphia
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 8,500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL
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 N405EA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.