Allegheny Airlines Flight 853
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 9, 1969 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site |
Moral Township, Shelby County, near Fairland, Indiana, United States 39°37′02″N 85°55′14″W / 39.61722°N 85.92056°WCoordinates: 39°37′02″N 85°55′14″W / 39.61722°N 85.92056°W |
| Total fatalities | 83 (all) |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
 An Allegheny Airlines DC-9-30, c.1970 |
|
| Type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 |
| Operator | Allegheny Airlines |
| Registration | N988VJ |
| Flight origin | Boston Logan Airport |
| 1st stopover | Greater Cincinnati Airport |
| 2nd stopover | Indianapolis International Airport |
| Destination | St. Louis International Airport |
| Passengers | 78 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 82 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
.jpg) A Piper PA-28 similar to the accident aircraft |
|
| Type | Piper PA-28-140 |
| Operator | Private |
| Registration | N7374J |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 1 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
On September 9, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 passenger jet, collided in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 light aircraft near Fairland, Indiana, United States. The DC-9 was carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew members. The Piper was leased to a student pilot on a solo cross-country flight. All 83 occupants of both aircraft were killed in the accident and both aircraft were destroyed by the collision and ground impact.
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a DC-9-31, registration N988VJ, was a regularly scheduled flight departing Boston, Massachusetts, for St. Louis, Missouri, with stops in Baltimore, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Captain James Elrod (47) and First Officer William Heckendorn (26) were at the controls. Elrod was a seasoned veteran, with more than 23,800 flight hours. The young co-pilot had accumulated close to 3,000 flight hours. The flight departed Cincinnati at 3:15pm en route to Indianapolis. Allegheny 853, flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) clearance to Indianapolis, was instructed by Indianapolis Approach Control to descend to 2500 feet after passing the Shelbyville VOR at 6000 feet. The flight was then vectored to a 280 degree heading.
Meanwhile, the private Piper PA-28, registration N7374J, piloted by Robert Carey (34), was on a southeasterly heading. It was operating under a filed visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan which indicated a cruising altitude of 3500 feet. The PA-28 was not in communication with Air Traffic Control, and was not transponder equipped, and there was no evidence it appeared as a primary radar target on the radarscope.
...
Wikipedia