USAir Flight 1493

LAX runway collision
USAir Flight 1493 · SkyWest Flight 5569

Diagram showing movement of the aircraft involved in the accident.
Accident summary
Date	February 1, 1991
Summary	Runway collision caused by ATC error and negligence
Site	Los Angeles International Airport LAX Los Angeles, California United States
Total fatalities	35 (includes one death after 31 days)
Total injuries (non-fatal)	29
Total survivors	66
First aircraft
A USAir Boeing 737-3B7, the aircraft involved in the accident
Type	Boeing 737-3B7
Operator	USAir
Registration	N388US
Flight origin	Syracuse Hancock Int'l Airport
1st stopover	Washington National Airport
2nd stopover	Port Columbus Int'l Airport
Last stopover	Los Angeles Int'l Airport
Destination	San Francisco Int'l Airport
Passengers	83
Crew	6
Fatalities	23 (includes one death after 31 days)
Injuries (non-fatal)	30 (13 serious, 17 minor)
Survivors	66
Second aircraft
A SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner, similar to the one involved
Type	Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
Operator	SkyWest Airlines
Registration	N683AV
Flight origin	Los Angeles Int'l Airport
Destination	LA/Palmdale Regional Airport
Passengers	10
Crew	2
Fatalities	12 (all)
Survivors	0

USAir Flight 1493 was a scheduled United States (US) domestic passenger flight from Syracuse Hancock International Airport, New York, to San Francisco International Airport, California, via Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California. On the evening of Friday, February 1, 1991, the aircraft serving the flight, a Boeing 737-300, accidentally collided with SkyWest Flight 5569, a Metroliner turboprop aircraft, upon landing at Los Angeles.

That evening saw slow to moderate air traffic at Los Angeles airport (LAX), but as Flight 1493 was on final approach, a series of abnormalities distracted the local controller, including an aircraft that inadvertently switched off the tower frequency and a misplaced flight progress strip which resulted in the SkyWest flight being told to taxi into takeoff position while the USAir flight was landing on the same runway without the Metroliner ever being given a takeoff clearance.

Upon landing, the 737 collided with the twin-engine turboprop, continued down the runway with the turboprop crushed beneath it, exited the runway, and caught fire. All 12 people aboard the smaller plane were killed, as well as an eventual total of 23 out of the 89 passengers on the Boeing. Rescue workers were on the scene of the fire within minutes and began the evacuation of the plane. Because of the intense fire, three of the 737's six exits could not be used. Neither of the front exits were usable, which caused the front passengers to try to use the overwing exits. However, only one of the overwing exits was usable, which caused a backlog to form. Most of those aboard the 737 who died in the accident succumbed to asphyxiation in the post-crash fire.