What happened
During the landing phase at Boston-Logan Airport, an approaching DC-10 encountered challenging weather characterized by fog and rain, which reduced visibility to approximately 3/4 mile. As the crew transitioned from instrument flight rules to visual flight rules while on short final for runway 33L, the aircraft experienced a sudden increase in its rate of descent. During this maneuver, the right main landing gear made contact with a dyke, causing the gear to be severed from the airframe. Following this impact, the aircraft hit the runway surface and veered toward the right side of the pavement. The aircraft subsequently lost its undercarriage and caught fire before coming to a stop. All 168 occupants were successfully evacuated from the wreckage, though the accident resulted in six injuries. The aircraft was a total loss.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary factor was an encounter with low-level wind shear at a critical moment during the approach. This occurred precisely as the pilot was switching from automatic flight controls to manual control using visual references. The captain's ability to identify and correct the resulting sink rate was severely hindered by poor visibility and a lack of prior warning regarding the wind shear. Because the ILS glide slope provided very little clearance over the approach light piers, the window for corrective action was extremely narrow, making a safe recovery nearly impossible under the prevailing conditions.