USAir Flight 1493 - Accident Details

Accident Details

USAir flight 1493 was a scheduled service from Syracuse, making stops at Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio and Los Angeles (LAX), before continuing to San Francisco. On February 1, 1991, after a crew change in Washington, it was under the command of Captain Colin Shaw, 48 and First Officer David Kelly, 32. Flying into LAX, the aircraft carried 83 passengers and a crew of six.

LAX consisted of four parallel runways, with the two runways and associated taxiways north of the terminal called the North Complex. Aircraft that landed on the outer runway – 24R – would cross the inboard runway – 24L – in order to reach the terminal.

SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a twin-engine Fairchild Metroliner bound for Palmdale, California with 10 passengers and two crew members on board, was cleared by an Air Traffic Controller in the LAX tower (the 'local controller') to taxi to Runway 24L, moving from gate 32 to the runway via taxiways Kilo, 48, Tango, and 45 (names have been re-designated Charlie, Quebec, Delta, and Delta10 since 1991). The plane was briefly not visible from the tower on taxiway 48 between Kilo and Tango in the area known as no man's land.

Immediately prior to SkyWest 5569 reaching runway 24L, a Wings West aircraft had landed on 24R and was awaiting permission to cross 24L and taxi to the terminal. The local controller attempted to cross the Wings West aircraft but the crew had changed frequencies and did not answer, distracting the local controller as she attempted to reestablish communications. Shortly after 6 PM local time, as USAir 1493 was making its final approach to LAX, SkyWest 5569 was cleared by the local controller to taxi into its takeoff position on 24L at the intersection of taxiway 45, some 2,200 feet (670 m) up from the runway threshold. After four attempts by the local controller, the Wings West aircraft finally responded to the tower and apologized for switching frequencies. The local controller then cleared US1493 to land on 24L, with SkyWest 5569 still holding in takeoff position on the runway.

With this activity ongoing, another Wings West aircraft, a Metroliner similar to SkyWest 5569, called the tower reporting they were ready for takeoff. The same local controller queried this aircraft about their position, and they told her they were holding on a taxiway short of 24L. The flight progress strip for this flight had not yet been given to the local controller by the clearance delivery controller (another distraction), and the local controller mistakenly thought this taxiway Metroliner was SkyWest 5569 and thus the runway was clear of aircraft. The first officer of USAir 1493 recalled hearing this conversation, but did not remember anyone being cleared to hold on the runway.

USAir 1493 touched down near the runway threshold and as the nose was being lowered, the first officer noticed SkyWest 5569 on the runway and applied maximum braking. USAir 1493 shortly thereafter slammed into Skywest 5569 and both aircraft skidded down the runway with the Metroliner crushed beneath the 737's fuselage. The aircraft veered off the left side of the runway and the wreckage came to rest on the far side of the taxiway against a closed fire station building where it caught fire. Large debris from the Metroliner – including its tail, wings, and right engine – were found on the runway and between the runway and the abandoned fire station.

The accident was witnessed from a plane carrying the Vancouver Canucks, who were arriving for a NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings. The captain of that charter aircraft, having just landed, powered up the engines to get away from the fireball of the accident. The team was unsure if the USAir 737 was going to stop before it collided with their plane. The Canucks were shaken by the experience and lost to the Kings by a score of 9-1, their worst loss of the 1990-91 season.