American Airlines Flight 1572

American Airlines Flight 1572 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport with a stop at Bradley International Airport. On November 12, 1995, the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating the service crashed into terrain while on approach to Bradley International Airport near East Granby, Connecticut. The accident resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft and numerous injuries, but there were no fatalities among the 72 passengers and 5 crew members.

Accident

The flight originated at Chicago O'Hare International Airport under normal conditions. The aircraft proceeded uneventfully toward its intermediate stop at Bradley International Airport, which was experiencing low clouds and fog. While executing the instrument landing system approach to Runway 15 at Bradley International Airport, the crew descended below the published minimum safe altitude. The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 struck trees on a ridge in the Metacomet Ridge range, approximately 2.4 miles north of the runway threshold. The impact sheared off the left wing and a portion of the right wing, and the fuselage slid to a stop in a wooded area. The flight crew initiated an immediate evacuation, assisted by the flight attendants. First responders from the East Granby Fire Department and other local agencies arrived swiftly at the remote crash site.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board launched a major investigation into the causes of the crash. Investigators determined the probable cause was the flight crew's failure to maintain a proper altitude during the final approach, coupled with a lack of awareness of their precise geographical position relative to the Bradley International Airport runway. The investigation highlighted that the captain and first officer did not adequately cross-check their altitude against the published approach charts for the instrument landing system. Furthermore, the NTSB found that American Airlines had not provided sufficient training to its pilots on the specific ground proximity warning system installed in its McDonnell Douglas MD-83 fleet. The Federal Aviation Administration was also cited for inadequate oversight of air carrier training programs regarding the use of such critical safety systems.

Aftermath

In the wake of the accident, American Airlines revised its pilot training protocols to emphasize altitude awareness and the proper use of the ground proximity warning system. The Federal Aviation Administration issued new advisory circulars to all air carriers, reinforcing procedures for conducting non-precision approaches. Several injured passengers filed lawsuits against American Airlines, which were later settled out of court. The crash site became a case study in aviation safety training, illustrating the dangers of controlled flight into terrain during instrument meteorological conditions. The successful evacuation and survival of all occupants was widely noted by safety experts, including those at the Flight Safety Foundation.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registered as N566AA. It was a twin-engine, narrow-body jet airliner, a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series. The airframe was manufactured and delivered to American Airlines in 1988. Following the accident, the heavily damaged fuselage was written off and scrapped at the site. At the time of the crash, the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 was a mainstay of the American Airlines domestic fleet, commonly used on medium-haul routes across the United States.

See also

* American Airlines Flight 965 * USAir Flight 405 * Controlled flight into terrain * Ground proximity warning system * National Transportation Safety Board

Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Connecticut Category:American Airlines accidents and incidents Category:Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-80