Linate Airport Disaster - Accident

Accident

The accident occurred in thick fog, with visibility reduced to less than 200 metres (656 ft).

The Cessna Citation was instructed to taxi from the western apron along the northern taxiway (taxiway R5), and then via the northern apron to the main taxiway which runs parallel to the main runway, a route that would have kept it clear of the main runway. Instead, the pilot taxied along the southern taxi route (taxiway R6), crossing the main runway toward the main taxiway which lay beyond it (see diagram).

At 08:09:28, the SAS MD-87 was given clearance by a different controller to take off from runway 36R. Fifty-three seconds later, the SAS aircraft, traveling at about 270 kilometres per hour (150 kn; 170 mph), collided with the Cessna. One of the four in the Cessna was killed on impact, the remaining three were burned alive. The MD-87 lost its right engine; the pilot, Joakim Gustafsson from Sweden, attempted to take off, reaching an altitude of approximately 12 metres (39 ft). The remaining engine lost some thrust due to debris ingestion, and the plane, having lost the starboard landing gear, came down. Gustafsson applied thrust reverser and brakes, and tried to guide the plane through its control surfaces. The maneuver was judged so skillful that it is now incorporated into SAS technical manuals. All this was, however, insufficient to halt the jet's momentum, and it crashed into a luggage hangar located near the runway's end, at a speed of approximately 251 kilometres per hour (136 kn; 156 mph). In the impact, all the MD-87's crew and passengers were killed. The crash and subsequent fire killed four Italian ground personnel in the hangar, and injured four more.

Of the occupants of the SAS aircraft, 54 (46%), mainly in the back of the aircraft, suffered severe burns; their bodies were identified using forensic dentistry or DNA records. Those in the front of the aircraft suffered severe blunt trauma.