Ozark Air Lines Flight 965

Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 was a scheduled commercial flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri, with a scheduled intermediate stopover at Greater Peoria Regional Airport in Peoria, Illinois. On March 27, 1968, the Douglas DC-9-15 jetliner operating the flight, carrying 44 passengers and five crew, collided in mid-air with a single-engined Cessna 150F while both aircraft were on approach to the same runway at Lambert Field. The DC-9 landed safely with no injuries to any of its 49 occupants, while both pilots in the two-person Cessna died in the collision and subsequent ground impact.

Accident

At 5:49 p.m., Ozark Air Lines Flight 965, was en route to Lambert Field and was transferred to St. Louis Approach Control. It was daylight and clear weather conditions prevailed, with high, thin, broken clouds and 15 mi visibility reported, but surface winds were strong, bearing 170° at 15-20 kn. The DC-9 pilots initiated an instrument approach to runway 12R, but before reaching the outer marker, they reported to approach control that they had the airport in sight. At 5:55 p.m., approach control cleared the pilots for a contact approach to runway 17, which the pilots acknowledged, and the controller transferred the flight to the airport control tower. The pilots made a left turn. At 5:56 p.m., the pilots reported to the tower that they were on a right base leg for runway 17, and the controller advised them of Cessna N8669G ahead and to the right. The pilots did not respond to the controller regarding the traffic advisory, but the CVR recorded one pilot saying "I don't see it (out there) at all", to which another replied "Naw."

Cessna N8669G was on a visual flight rules (VFR) instructional flight and the pilots contacted the tower for landing instructions. After making numerous calls to other aircraft, the controller instructed the Cessna pilots to "report right downwind" (referring to a downwind airfield traffic pattern turn). The controller then called Ozark 965 to confirm it was following a different Cessna. Spotting Cessna N8669G near the DC-9, the controller then said, "Six nine golf if that's you out there about to turn final pull out to your- ah - well just proceed straight on across the final and enter on a left base leg for runway one seven. You'll be following an Ozark DC-9, turning final about two [miles] out, maybe to your left and above you, you have him?" The Cessna pilot replied, "Six nine golf roger."

A few seconds later at 5:57 p.m., a tower controller called Ozark 965 again with a second traffic advisory, saying "that Cessna off to your right looks like he's eastbound." All three pilots looked to their right and spotted Cessna N8669G directly abeam the DC-9 cockpit. The captain attempted to dodge the small aircraft but heard and felt a thump of impact. The impact and subsequent uncontrolled descent severed the right wing of the Cessna; the main wreckage and left wing were found in an empty parking lot 6,500 ft from the approach end of runway 17. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) characterized the crash as "nonsurvivable". The DC-9 remained controllable and landed on runway 17 without serious incident. It sustained light damage to the right wing and a wing flap, with paint smears consistent with contact with the Cessna's propeller and wing.