Boeing 727-227 N16762

Summary

On 15 November 1993 at about 21:13 local time, a Boeing 727-227 registered N16762, operated by Continental Airlines, Inc., was involved in an accident near Chicago, Illinois, United States. 86 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 November 1993 at 21:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

O'hare International (ORD)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Boeing 727-227

Registration

N16762

Category

Airplane

Engines

3

Operator

Continental Airlines, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI94FA039

Nobody was injured.

THE CAPTAIN'S FAILURE TO ASSURE THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED FOR LANDING. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: TRAFFIC ALERT DISTRACTIONS, THE FLIGHT CREW'S FAILURE TO USE THE CHECKLIST, AND INADEQUATE COMPANY SYSTEMS TRAINING.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE FLIGHT CREW REPORTED IT WAS A HEAVY TRAFFIC PERIOD, AND ATC WAS USING PARALLEL RUNWAYS. THEY REPORTED THEY WERE VECTORED ONTO A LONGER THAN NORMAL FINAL APPROACH, AND SLOWED DOWN EARLIER THAN USUAL. 25 DEG FLAPS WAS SELECTED TO MAINTAIN THE ASSIGNED AIRSPEED, BUT THEY DELAYED LANDING GEAR EXTENSION BECAUSE OF THEIR DISTANCE FROM THE RUNWAY. NUMEROUS GENUINE AND 'PHANTOM' TCAS TRAFFIC ALERTS WERE RECEIVED DURING THE APPROACH, WHICH DISTRACTED THEM FROM THE CHECKLIST. AT 500 FT AGL, THE GPWS SYSTEM BEGAN TO SOUND 'WHOOP WHOOP TERRAIN', AND THE CREW STATED THEY WERE DISTRACTED BY ALL THE NOISE IN THE COCKPIT, AND CONFUSED BY THE 'TERRAIN' MESSAGE FROM THE GPWS. WHEN THE GPWS WAS (AUTOMATICALLY) INHIBITED AT 50 FT AGL, THE CREW RECOGNIZED THE LANDING GEAR WAS NOT EXTENDED. THEY EXECUTED A GO-AROUND, AND THE AFT FUSELAGE STRUCK THE RUNWAY IN THE PROCESS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.