American Airlines Flight 1420 Runway Overrun at Little Rock National Airport (N215AA)

Accident Overview and Casualties On June 1, 1999, at 2350:44 central daylight time, American Airlines Flight 1420 crashed after overrunning the end of runway 4R during landing at Little Rock National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) with registration N215AA. The accident resulted in the deaths of the captain and 10 passengers. The first officer, four flight attendants, and 105 passengers sustained serious or minor injuries, while 24 passengers were not injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. ## Flight Operations and Sequence of Events Flight 1420 departed from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas at approximately 2240. The aircraft was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. It carried 2 flight crewmembers, 4 flight attendants, and 139 passengers. The aircraft touched down in Little Rock at 2350:20. After departing the end of the runway, the airplane struck several tubes extending outward from the left edge of the instrument landing system (ILS) localizer array, located 411 feet beyond the end of the runway. It then passed through a chain link security fence and over a rock embankment to a flood plain, located approximately 15 feet below the runway elevation, before colliding with the structure supporting the runway 22L approach lighting system.