What happened
On the scheduled flight from Rome to New York, the crew of Alitalia Flight 618 operated normally through the en route and descent phases. Upon descending to 6000 feet, the crew received weather information via ATIS indicating low visibility at Kennedy Airport, characterized by fog, a scattered ceiling of 800 feet, and an out-of-service ILS glide slope. During this period, the first officer assumed control of the Boeing DC-8 after the captain requested the change, disengaging the autopilot to follow vectors from approach control.
As the aircraft approached the airport, air traffic controllers issued several speed adjustments, first increasing the airspeed and then reducing it shortly thereafter. At approximately 13:18, the flight was cleared for the ILS runway 4 right approach. As the aircraft descended through 600 feet, the crew gained visual contact with the runway, though the plane was positioned high and to the right of the centerline.
To correct the flight path, the captain took control and initiated a steep approach. During this maneuver, the pilot set all four engines to idle-reverse and applied reverse thrust specifically to engines number 2 and 3, intending to transition to forward thrust once on the proper slope. However, while managing the aircraft's rotation, the pilot was unable to return the engines to forward thrust. The Boeing DC-8 made a heavy touchdown and began yawing to the left. This resulted in a ground loop that caused the fuselage to split behind the wing and led to the separation of three engines from the airframe. There were no reported fatalities, though the aircraft sustained significant damage.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the primary factor was the unauthorized use of reverse thrust during flight, which created an uncorrectable high sink rate. The pilot's decision to use reverse thrust and his failure to execute a missed approach were driven by stress caused by air traffic control instructions. These instructions had positioned the aircraft too high and too close to the runway while operating under IFR conditions without a functional glide slope.