United Express Flight 5925

United Express flight 5925, operated by Great Lakes Airlines with a Beechcraft 1900, as their flight 5926, was a regularly scheduled flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Quincy, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Burlington, Iowa. On November 19, 1996, the flight crashed upon landing at Quincy, colliding with a Beechcraft King Air. All 12 aboard the 1900 and 2 aboard the King Air were killed in the accident. United continues to use the Flight 5925 designation as a United Express flight but it now flies from Sioux Falls-Chicago (O'Hare)- Sioux Falls route as ExpressJet Airlines using an Embraer RJ145.

Synopsis

United Express Flight 5925 departed from Chicago at 15:25 on November 19, 1996. After a stop at Burlington, Iowa, the flight proceeded to Quincy. Two aircraft at Quincy were ready for departure when Flight 5925 approached. Both a Beechcraft King Air and a Piper Cherokee were proceeding to Runway 04. As Quincy is an uncontrolled airport, all three aircraft were operating on the same Common Traffic Advisory Frequency. On approach, the United Express crew inquired as to whether the King Air would hold short of the runway, or depart before their arrival. After receiving no response, the United Express crew called again, and received a reply from the Cherokee that they were holding short. However, due to the ground proximity warning system sounding in the 1900s cockpit, only part of the transmission was received by the 1900.

Assuming that both planes were holding, Flight 5925 landed on Runway 13. The King Air, however, had taxied into position on Runway 4, and had begun its takeoff roll when Flight 5925 landed. Both aircraft collided at the intersection of runways 4 and 13. The aircraft skidded for 110 feet (34 m), coming to rest alongside Runway 13, and caught fire. Several pilots in the vicinity of the crash came to the scene, but were unable to open the doors of the aircraft before both planes were destroyed by fire. All 12 aboard the 1900 and both pilots of the King Air were killed in the accident.

Cause

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the cause of the accident was the King Air pilots' failure to effectively monitor both the common frequency and to scan for traffic. A contributing factor was the Cherokee's transmission at the same time as the United Express transmission. Lack of adequate rescue and firefighting equipment was a cited as a factor in the high fatality rate.

External links

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
• NTSB Full report