American Airlines Flight 383 (1965)

American Airlines Flight 383 was a nonstop flight from New York City to Cincinnati on November 8, 1965. The aircraft was a Boeing 727, with 57 passengers, and 5 crew on board. The aircraft crashed on final approach to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. Only three passengers and one flight attendant survived the accident.

Events leading to the crash

The flight was delayed for 20 minutes in New York. Captain Daniel Teelin was flying in the right seat as check captain for Captain William O'Neill, who was qualifying on the 727. Until the landing attempt, the flight from New York to Cincinnati was uneventful. At 18:45 (6:45 PM) Eastern Standard Time, the crew contacted the airline via ARINC company radio to report a 19:05 (7:05 PM) estimated time of arrival at Cincinnati. At 18:57 (6:57 PM), Flight 383 was cleared by the approach controller for a visual approach to Cincinnati's runway 18 (now runway 18C), and was advised of precipitation just west of the airport. The aircraft approached the airport from the southeast and turned to a northerly heading to cross the Ohio River. It turned west after crossing to the northern shore of the Ohio River, intending to make a final turn to southeast after crossing the Ohio River (which runs from northwest to southeast) again to the southern shore of the river. After that final turn, the aircraft would line up with the runway 18 of the airport to make the final approach.

At 18:58 (6:58 PM), the approach controller transferred Flight 383 to the Cincinnati tower frequency. At 18:59 (6:59 PM), Flight 383 received clearance from the tower controller to land on runway 18.

Accident

The aircraft flew into thick clouds and a thunderstorm after flying toward the airport from the northwest. It descended more rapidly than it should have, without either pilot in the cockpit noticing. The airport is situated at an elevation of 853 ft and the aircraft had descended to the level of 553 ft above the airport while it was still about 5 miles northeast of the airport. It descended to just 3 ft (per altimeter) above the airport while it was about 3 nm north of the airport. Its correct altitude should have been just below 1000 ft at that time. It continued its descent into the Ohio River valley while crossing the river back to the southern shore. When it made its last turn to the southeast to line up with the runway, it flew into the wooded slopes of the valley 3 km north of the runway threshold in poor visibility, at an altitude of 225′ below the runway's elevation. It then exploded and was engulfed in flames.

Of the 62 people on board the aircraft, only four people (one flight attendant and three passengers) survived. One of the survivors was Israel Horowitz, an American record producer. Another was a deadheading American Airlines captain, Elmer Weekly, who later testified at the accident hearings.