TWA Flight 427

On November 22, 1994, TWA Flight 427, operated using a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, struck a Cessna 441 Conquest II during its take-off roll, killing both of its occupants. The collision took place at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) in Bridgeton, Missouri.

Accident

Flight 427 was scheduled to depart STL at 21:34 Central Standard Time but pushed back from the gate about 15 minutes late. Apart from the delay, ground operations were routine. Flight 427 was given instructions to taxi to Runway 30R. At 22:01, the first officer advised local controllers that Flight 427 was ready for departure from Runway 30R.

The Cessna arrived in STL and, at about 21:40, taxied to the charter aviation terminal to drop off its passenger. At 21:58, the Cessna's pilot advised ground control that he was ready to taxi back to the runway for departure. The ground controller instructed the Cessna to "back-taxi into position" and hold on Runway 31, and then advise the controller when in position for departure. Although not a formally defined aviation term, "back-taxiing" generally referred to using a runway to taxi in a direction opposite the direction of departing or landing traffic in order to reach the takeoff position further down the runway. Although the ground controller specifically stated Runway 31, the Cessna pilot did not repeat the runway number when acknowledging his instructions. After being cleared to back-taxi on Runway 31, the Cessna pilot instead taxied onto Runway 30R, which Flight 427 was preparing to depart from.

At 22:01:23, Flight 427 was cleared for takeoff from Runway 30R, and the MD-82 taxied onto Runway 30R, with Speed at the controls. Flight 427 began accelerating down the runway at 22:02:27. Two seconds later, the Cessna's pilot advised the local controller that he was "ready to go on the right side." At 22:02:40, Carr called out reaching an airspeed of 80 knots; 2-3 seconds later, Richardson yelled, "There's an airplane!" Simultaneously, both Speed and Carr saw the Cessna and applied braking, and Carr applied hard left rudder in an attempt to direct their aircraft around the Cessna. About 2-3 seconds after they first saw the Cessna, the flight crew of Flight 427 felt the Cessna impact the right side of their plane. Flight 427's flight crew aborted their takeoff, and brought the plane to a stop on the left side of Runway 30R.

The right wing of the MD-82 tore the horizontal and vertical stabilizers off the fuselage of the Cessna, and sheared off the top of the Cessna's fuselage and cockpit; both occupants of the Cessna were killed. The MD-82's cockpit and cabin were not damaged, and no one on board the MD-82 was killed in the collision. Carr shut down the MD-82's engines and immediately called for emergency vehicles. Carr then asked the tower for help determining if there was a fire; the controller asserted he did not see flames, then asserted that the Cessna was not supposed to be on Runway 30R, telling Carr, "He was supposed to be on runway three one. I did not see the aircraft on that runway." Carr responded, "All that later, I just want to make sure everything's safe here."

Due to a large amount of spilled jet fuel, a fire hazard existed and an immediate evacuation was necessary. Eight passengers sustained minor injuries in the evacuation of the aircraft. The airport authority did not officially close the airport after the accident. Aircraft continued to land on runway 30L and taxi nearby during passenger evacuation.