Southwest Airlines Flight 1248

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Southwest Airlines Flight 1248**
Summary
Date	December 8, 2005
Type	Possible weather-related overrun
Site	Midway Airport, Chicago, Illinois
Fatalities	1 (ground fatality)
Injuries	10
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-7H4
Operator	Southwest Airlines
Tail number	N471WN, now N286WN ^[1]
Passengers	98
Crew	5
Survivors	103(all)

Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 (WN1248, SWA1248) was a scheduled passenger flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport serving Baltimore, Maryland to Midway Airport in southwest Chicago, Illinois.

1 December 8, 2005 accident
2 See also
- 2.1 Events at Midway
- 2.2 Runway Overshoots
3 Sources
- 3.1 Works cited
- 3.2 References
4 External links

[edit] December 8, 2005 accident

ILS Runway 31C chart ^[2]

On Thursday, December 8, 2005, Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 was scheduled to arrive at Midway Airport from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and then continue on to Salt Lake City International Airport, then to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. The flight circled over a small area in northwest Indiana several times before attempting to land in a snowstorm. The snowstorm had reduced visibility from 1/2 to 1/4 mile visibility. ^[3] At around 7:15 p.m. CST, the pilot attempted a landing with nearly eight inches of snow on the ground in the area. However, airport officials stated that the runway was cleared of snow at the time of landing. The latest reported weather had the wind from between east and east-southeast (100°) at 11 knots.

An easterly wind would normally favor landing into the wind on runway 13 Left, Center, or Right. The runway visual range was reported at 4,500', below the landing minimums for the Instrument Landing System approach to runway 13C. The only available ILS runway with a lower minimum was landing in the opposite direction on 31C, with the airplane's groundspeed boosted by a tailwind.^[4] Alternatively, the crew could have circled in a holding pattern waiting for the weather to improve, or they could have diverted to an alternate airport, such as Chicago O'Hare International, whose substantially longer runways were 10 minutes' flying time away. However, each of these options would have entailed considerable additional expense for Southwest, as well as missed connections and significant inconvenience for the flight's passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board identified the psychological pressure to complete their assigned task as one of the factors contributing to the crew's decision to land at Midway despite unfavorable conditions.

The NTSB preliminary report has determined that the aircraft touched down in the touchdown zone of the runway with 4,500 feet of its 6,522 foot length remaining; however, under the prevailing conditions of weather, wind, speed, & weight, the aircraft needed 5,300 feet of runway to stop safely.^[5]

A preliminary NTSB advisory says: "The flying pilot (Captain) stated that he could not get the reverse thrust levers out of the stowed position. The first officer, after several seconds, noticed that the thrust reversers were not deployed and activated the reversers without a problem. Flight data recorder information reveals that the thrust reversers were not deployed until 18 seconds after touchdown, at which point there was only about 1,000 feet of usable runway remaining." ^[4]

The plane, a Boeing 737-700, after it skidded off the runway and onto a nearby street on December 8, 2005.

The plane skidded during landing; subsequently, witnesses said the nosegear collapsed, the aircraft crashed into a barrier wall surrounding the airport, then came to rest on S. Central Avenue just south of the 55th Street intersection (the north-western edge of the airport) The intersection was full of traffic, and at least three cars were hit, killing a six-year-old boy named Joshua Woods, critically injuring five occupants of one car (two adults, three children), and seriously injuring four occupants of a second car. All were quickly taken to area hospitals. Three passengers from the plane were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. Twelve people were taken to hospitals after the incident. Another of the cars hit was parked and unoccupied.^[6]

This was the first fatal accident involving a Southwest Airlines aircraft in the 35-year history of the company.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 with tail number N471WN, was delivered to Southwest in July 2004. As a "Next Generation" model, the plane was equipped with the latest anti-skid and braking technology.

The National Transportation Safety Board was reported to be investigating, and Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Cortez Trotter said the plane would not be removed from the intersection until the NTSB gave clearance to do so following its on-site investigation. The nose of the aircraft was hoisted onto a flatbed tractor-trailer on Saturday, December 10, and the plane was towed to a hangar for continued inspection.

It is now recommended practice for any new runway to have a clear area at least 1000 feet long at each end, called a 'runway safety area', to allow additional space for an aircraft that overruns the runway to decelerate & stop in relative safety. As Midway was constructed before these rules were put in place, it does not have this safety area. The accident has brought up discussions for the possible need for an engineered materials arrestor system at Chicago Midway, given the lack of adequate overrun areas, and the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Additionally, actions taken by the city to acquire land for a buffer zone around the airport (in apparent recognition of the hazard) came to light after the crash.^[5]

The accident occurred 33 years to the day after United Airlines Flight 553, also a Boeing 737, crashed while aborting a landing at Midway Airport in low visibility, killing 45.^[7]

Though the accident killed a bystander on the ground rather than a passenger or crewmember, Southwest followed the tradition of retiring any flight number involved in a fatal crash; current flights from Baltimore to Chicago departing at or around 1555 hours are now designated Flight 1885. Southwest also petitioned the FAA in July 2006 to have the tail number of the aircraft changed to N286WN.^[1]