American Airlines Flight 1572 Crash Analysis
The Accident
On November 12, 1995, an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 type passenger aircraft, which was operating as Flight 1572, departed from Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); however, the aircraft got substantially damaged due to impact to the top of oak trees on Peak Mountain Ridge in East Granby, Connecticut. The aircraft also hit the Instrument Landing System (ILS) localizer antenna, which was on its way to Runway 15 of Bradley International Airport (BDL). The aircraft, lastly, crashed while on approach to Runway 15 of BDL at 00:55 Eastern Time. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and all 73 passengers and crew of 5 survived the impact.
Accident Factors
Among many contributing factors to the crash of Flight 1572, the most significant accident factors were environmental hazards. Due to severe weather conditions in the North Eastern U.S., there were many weather related contributing accident factors to the Flight 1572 crash. Firstly, according to the initial report that the flight crew received via the Automatic Communication and Recording System (ACARS), conditions like severe turbulence, icing at lower altitudes, high winds, reduced visibility, rain, and low-level wind shear were expected on the approach to BDL. The reason behind these extreme weather conditions was the rapid change in pressure around the Bradley area. Even though the flight crew received several Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET), due to extreme conditions, the information they got was outdated in short notice.
In addition, it was found that the altimeter settings were not correct at the time of impact. The reason behind the false altimeter settings was that the flight crew did not set the altimeters according to rapidly changing pressure. American Airlines DC-83s were equipped with different altimeters that were set to different pressure references. One of the altimeters was set according to the elevation from the sea level, which was set to QNH.
On November 12, 1995, an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 type passenger aircraft, which was operating as Flight 1572, departed from Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); however, the aircraft got substantially damaged due to impact to the top of oak trees on Peak Mountain Ridge in East Granby, Connecticut. The aircraft also hit the Instrument Landing System (ILS) localizer antenna, which was on its way to Runway 15 of Bradley International Airport (BDL). The aircraft, lastly, crashed while on approach to Runway 15 of BDL at 00:55 Eastern Time. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and all 73 passengers and crew of 5 survived the impact.
Accident Factors
Among many contributing factors to the crash of Flight 1572, the most significant accident factors were environmental hazards. Due to severe weather conditions in the North Eastern U.S., there were many weather related contributing accident factors to the Flight 1572 crash. Firstly, according to the initial report that the flight crew received via the Automatic Communication and Recording System (ACARS), conditions like severe turbulence, icing at lower altitudes, high winds, reduced visibility, rain, and low-level wind shear were expected on the approach to BDL. The reason behind these extreme weather conditions was the rapid change in pressure around the Bradley area. Even though the flight crew received several Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET), due to extreme conditions, the information they got was outdated in short notice.
In addition, it was found that the altimeter settings were not correct at the time of impact. The reason behind the false altimeter settings was that the flight crew did not set the altimeters according to rapidly changing pressure. American Airlines DC-83s were equipped with different altimeters that were set to different pressure references. One of the altimeters was set according to the elevation from the sea level, which was set to QNH.
References: Brelis, M. (1995, December 5). Airline ups flight rules after crash at Bradley (City Edition). Boston Globe, 25. Boston, Mass: Boston Globe. (Document ID: 21418021). Dunn, R. D., Jr. (1995, December 18). Pilot, crew of flight 1572 did their best (Statewide Edition). Hartford Courant, A.14. Hartford, Conn: Hartford Courant. (Document ID: 22945376). National Transportation Safety Board. 1996. Aircraft Accident Report: Collision with Trees on Final Approach. American Airlines Flight 1572, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N5611, East Granby, Connecticut, November 12, 1995. DCA96MA008. Washington, D.C.: NTSB. Pazniokas, M. (1995, November 19). Altimeter setting a focus of inquiry into flight 1572 (Statewide Edition). Hartford Courant, A.9. Hartford, Conn: Hartford Courant. (Document ID: 22935910). Walters, J. M., Sumwalt, R. L. (2000). Aircraft accident analysis: final reports. New York: McGraw-Hill.