American Airlines Flight 625

American Airlines Flight 625

An American Airlines Boeing 727-100 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident.
Accident
Date	April 27, 1976
Summary	Pilot error
Site	St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-23
Operator	American Airlines
Registration	N1963
Flight origin	T. F. Green Airport, Providence, Rhode Island
Stopover	John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York
Destination	Harry S. Truman Airport, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Passengers	81
Crew	7
Fatalities	37
Injuries	39 (1 on the ground)
Survivors	51

American Airlines Flight 625, a Boeing 727-100, crashed at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on April 27, 1976, while on a domestic scheduled passenger flight originating at T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island and ending at Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands with an intermediate stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The American Airlines Boeing 727-23, registration N1963, overran the departure end of Runway 9 when landing at the Harry S Truman airport. The aircraft struck an Instrument Landing System antenna, crashed through a chain link fence, and traveled another 1,040 feet (320 m) until stopped by a gas station. The aircraft was destroyed.

The airport at St. Thomas was notorious among pilots for its short (4,658 ft) runway. In fact, the Boeing 727 was the heaviest aircraft type authorized to use it, and even then it was only authorized in one direction.

Ultimately, the NTSB attributed this crash to pilot error on the approach – for example the maximum flap setting of 40 degrees was never applied, which meant that the aircraft's speed was 10 knots (19 km/h) higher than V_REF as it crossed the runway threshold. This, combined with the fact that the aircraft 'floated' from the turbulent winds in the area, meant that it was already 2,300 feet (700 m) down the runway at the point of touchdown. The pilots did not act quickly enough on the brakes and proceeded to go full-throttle three seconds after touchdown. However, they were unable to reach take-off speed because the 727's engines are slow-responding, taking about 6.6 seconds to power up. After five seconds of waiting for power, and with only 700 feet (210 m) of runway left, the pilot panicked, according to the report, and applied full brakes. Further, the pilot forgot to apply reverse engine thrust until immediately before impact. Ultimately, the aircraft ran off the end of the runway and into a Shell gas station, killing 37 (35 passengers and two flight attendants) of the 88 on board. 38 other passengers and crew were injured and one person on the ground was seriously injured. The probable cause was the captain's actions and his judgment in not being aware that when he touched down 2,300 feet (700 m) into the 4,658-foot (1,420 m) runway, he did not have enough distance to perform a go-around.

As a result of the crash, American Airlines ended all jet flights to St. Thomas, flying instead to St. Croix (which has a much longer 10,004 foot runway). American Airlines passengers were then flown to St. Thomas in Convair 440 propeller-driven aircraft from St. Thomas as well as from San Juan with these flights being operated by a wholly owned subsidiary, American Inter-Island Airlines. Jet flights operated by American resumed when the runway at St. Thomas was lengthened to 7,000 feet (2,100 m).

In popular culture

American Airlines Flight 625 was specifically mentioned in the movie Rain Man.

See also

• Aviation safety
• List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft

References

• United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, CAP479 World Airline Accident Summary Volume 2, ISBN 0-903083-44-2

External links

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
• NTSB Accident Investigation Report (PDF file)