ACCIDENT OF N113WA (47821/320)
January 23rd 1979, time: 19:36
NTSB report / statistics
The DC-10 made a non-precision instrument approach to Runway 15R and touched down 2800ft past the displaced threshold. When the crew sensed that the aircraft couldn't be stopped on the remaining runway, they steered the DC-10 off the side of the runway to avoid the approach light pier, and slid into the shallow water. The nose section separated as the DC-10 came to rest 250ft past the runway end, 110ft left of the extended centreline. PROBABLE CAUSE: "The minimal braking effectiveness on the ice-covered runway; the failure of the Boston-Logan International Airport management to exercise maximum efforts to assess the condition of the runway to assure continued safety of landing operations; the failure of air traffic control to transmit the most recent pilot reports of braking action to the pilot of Flight 30H; and the Captain's decision to accept and maintain an excessive airspeed derived from the autothrottle speed control system during the landing approach which caused the aircraft to land about 2,800 ft beyond the runway's displaced threshold. Contributing to the accident were the inadequacy of the present system of reports to convey reliable braking effectiveness information and the absence of provisions in the Federal Aviation Regulations to require: (1) airport management to measure the slipperiness of the runways using standardised procedures and to use standardised criteria in evaluating and reporting braking effectiveness and in making decisions to close runways. (2) operators to provide flight crews and other personnel with information necessary to correlate braking effectiveness on contaminaten runways with aircraft stopping distances, and (3) extended minimum runway lengths for landing on runways which adequately take into consideration the reduction of braking effectiveness due to ice and snow. "
Crew: 0 fatalities / 12 on board
Passengers: 2 fatalities / 200 on board
Total: 2 fatalities / 212 on board
Location: Boston-Logan IAP, MA (USA)
Phase: Landing
Nature: Scheduled Passenger
Flight: New York-Newark IAP, NJ - Boston-Logan IAP, MA (Flightnumber 30)
Source: Aviation Safety Network / NTSB
DC-10 crashed into harbor
All 208 people on board survived / runway was covered with ice
With no more than a fright or lighter injuries, 208 people got off a DC-10 aircraft which lost the way on the icy runway landing at Logan Airport and crashed into the harbor of Boston. All 196 passengers and 12 crew members saved themselves onto land. 11 people, which were first missed, later reported themselves at the proper authorities.
The accident occurred only ten days after the crash in Washington. On February 13th, a starting plane crashed against a bridge which led over the Potomac and sank in the icy river. Only five passengers survived the crash. 74 people on board and four on the bridged came to death.
The accident in Boston happened on Saturday at 7:30 PM local time (Sunday 1:30 CET) when light fog and rain were over Boston. According to the weather office, the sight was around 2 ˝ kms.
When the aircraft hit the ground, the cockpit broke off the fuselage and sank into the water. The rest off the DC-10 was mainly above the water line. Most of the passengers left the aircraft with the help of the evacuation slides. They walked in the water until they reached the quay. At least 33 people were transported to hospitals in Boston and Winthrop. A speaker of the port authorities told that nobody seemed to be severely injured. According to the doctors, the worst problems were the undercoolings and the back injuries. The pilot suffered from bruises, the co-pilot was examined as he swallowed a lot of water.
World Airways’ DC-10 started in Honolulu and stopped in Oakland, California and Newark, New Jersey before it arrived in Boston. „God blessed us“, told us a young female passenger with a small child after she was saved. Another passenger reported that nobody was aware of the danger. The touchdown was smooth, but it kept on rolling until it crashed into the harbor.
Source: January 24th 1982, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Hanover/Germany (freely traduced)