United Airlines Flight 227
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 11, 1965 |
| Type | crash-landing |
| Site | Salt Lake City Municipal Airport, Utah United States |
| Fatalities | 43 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 727-222 |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| Tail number | N7030U |
| Passengers | 85 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Survivors | 48 |
United Airlines Flight 227 was a Boeing 727-222 which crashed on November 11, 1965, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The flight, carrying 91 passengers and crew, impacted approach lights short of the runway while attempting to land in clear weather conditions, after dark. Of the 91 people onboard, 43 were killed, including 2 passengers who died several days after the crash. All of the crewmembers survived.
This accident was blamed entirely on the bad judgment of the Captain, Gale C. Kehmeier, because he insisted on conducting the final approach, from a position that was too high and too close to the airport, to permit a descent at the normal and safe rate. He allowed the plane to fly the final approach segment (in visual conditions) at a descent rate of 2,300 feet per minute (3 times the safe descent rate). When the plane crossed the outer marker, which marks the final approach segment, it was 2,000 feet too high.
The First Officer, who was flying the aircraft under the Captain's direction, attempted to add engine thrust. But, the Captain told him no, and brushed his hands off the thrust levers. The Captain took over the controls during the last few seconds, but it was too late to avoid crashing short of the runway. The plane impacted with a vertical acceleration force of 14.7-g.
That severe impact force broke off the left main landing gear and caused the right main gear to thrust up through the fuselage, rupturing pressurized fuel lines in the process. While the plane continued to slide down the runway on the nose gear and fuselage, pressurized fuel ignited inside the cabin. That turned a survivable accident into a fatal accident. Many of the 50 that successfully evacuated, were severely burned.
The CAB accident investigation revealed that the Captain had a checkered training history. He had failed his initial jet transition training course, and was returned to flying the DC-6. Later on, he also failed to pass a routine annual instrument proficiency check.
