Eastern Air Lines Flight 212
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 DC-9 similar to accident aircraft
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 11, 1974 |
| Type | Pilot Error |
| Site | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Passengers | 78 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Injuries | 10 |
| Fatalities | 72 |
| Survivors | 10 (13 initially, 3 later died) |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-9-31 |
| Operator | Eastern Air Lines |
| Tail number | N8984E |
Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 was an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9-31, carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew, operating as a scheduled flight from Charleston, South Carolina to Chicago, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the morning of September 11, 1974, while conducting an instrument approach in dense ground fog into Douglas Municipal Airport (now called Charlotte/Douglas International Airport), Charlotte, North Carolina, the aircraft crashed just short of the runway, killing 71 of the occupants. Thirteen people survived the initial impact, including the co-pilot and one flight attendant who walked away with no serious injuries; however, three more ultimately died from severe burn injuries.[1] One of the initial survivors died of injuries 29 days after the accident. Among those who died were American comedian Stephen Colbert's father and two brothers,[2] Navy Rear Admiral Charles W. Cummings, acting commandant of the 6th Naval District, three executives of Charleston's The Post and Courier and a Charleston television station anchorman.[1]
The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and resulting post-crash fire.[3]
The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which released its final report[4] on May 23, 1975. The NTSB concluded that the accident was caused by the flightcrew's lack of altitude awareness and poor cockpit discipline.[5]
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[edit] Crash investigation and recommendations
While investigating this accident, and reviewing the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), the NTSB found that the flight crew engaged in unnecessary and "impertinent" conversation during the approach phase of the flight, discussing subjects "ranging from politics to used cars".[4] The NTSB concluded that conducting such non-essential chatter can distract pilots from their flying duties during the critical phases of flight, such as instrument approach to landing, and recommended that the FAA promulgate rules and educate pilots to focus exclusively on flying tasks while operating at low altitudes. The FAA, after more than 6 years of consideration, finally published the Sterile Cockpit Rule in 1981.[6][7]
Another possible cause of the crash discussed by the NTSB in its review of the CVR was that the crew was apparently trying to visually locate the Charlotte airport, while executing an instrument approach in the presence of low-lying fog. In addition, a persistent attempt to visually identify the nearby Carowinds amusement park observation tower,[8][9] known as "Carowinds Tower" to pilots, rising to 1,314 feet MSL (340 feet AGL), may have further distracted and confused the flight crew. None of the required altitude callouts were made by the captain, which compounded the flight crew's near total lack of altitude awareness.
During the investigation the issue of the flammability of passengers' clothing materials came up. There was evidence that passengers who wore double-knit manmade fiber clothing articles sustained significantly worse burn injuries during the post-crash fire than passengers who wore articles made from natural fibers.[4]
The NTSB issued the following official Probable Cause statement for the accident:[5]
The flight crew's lack of altitude awareness at critical points during the approach due to poor cockpit discipline in that the crew did not follow prescribed procedure.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Florence Morning News South Carolina, September 12, 1974. Archived at GenDisasters.com. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "Stephen Colbert On Insincerity", 60 Minutes, April 27, 2006
- ^ Stockton, William (1977). Final Approach: The Crash of Eastern 212. Doubleday & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-385-11628-4.
- ^ a b c Air Accident Report 75-9, (PDF) NTSB, May 23, 1975. Archived at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ a b EAL 212 accident record. ASN.
- ^ The Sterile Cockpit NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System Directline, #4 : June 1993. Robert L. Sumwalt. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ The Cockpit, the Cabin, and Social Psychology Airlinesafety.com 2005. Robert Baron. Retrieved 2007-04-22
- ^ Carowinds Park Carolina Skytower. Paramount Parks website. Retrieved on 2006-10-08.
- ^ Carolina Skytower. Theme Park Insider website. Retrieved on 2006-10-08.
