What happened
On the evening of the accident, TWA Flight 159 was preparing for departure from the Greater Cincinnati Airport. While the crew was initiating their takeoff roll on runway 27L, a DC-9 operated by Delta Air Lines, registration N-3/317L, was finishing its landing roll and attempting a 180-degree turnaround to return to a previous intersection. During this maneuver, the nosewheel of the Delta aircraft slipped off the paved surface, causing it to become stuck in the dirt near the runway edge.
Despite the Delta aircraft being partially off the pavement, the tower controller cleared TWA 159 for takeoff. The crew of the TWA flight did not visually identify the stationary Delta aircraft before beginning their roll. As the aircraft reached approximately 120 knots, the co-pilot noticed a sudden movement in the flight controls and heard a loud impact from the right side. Believing a collision had occurred, the co-pilot initiated an aborted takeoff by applying maximum braking and reverse thrust.
While directional control was initially maintained, the aircraft ran off the runway end, traveled 225 feet across terrain, and briefly became airborne before striking an embankment. The impact caused the main landing gear to detach and the nosewheel to shift rearward, damaging the cabin floor. The aircraft eventually came to a stop on a road roughly 421 feet from the runway threshold. The accident resulted in one fatality, one serious injury, and five minor injuries. The aircraft was a total loss.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the primary cause was the inability of the TWA crew to successfully abort the takeoff at the speed reached prior to the decision. This abort was prompted by the co-pilot's perception that the aircraft had struck the Delta plane. A contributing factor was the Delta crew's failure to verify their exact position relative to the runway before communicating that they were clear of the active surface.