What happened
On the afternoon of December 3, 1990, a collision occurred at Detroit-Metropolitan-Wayne County Airport in Michigan involving two commercial aircraft operated by Northwest Airlines. The incident took place at approximately 13:45 EST amidst conditions of dense fog near the intersection of runways 09/27 and 03C/21C.
At the time of the impact, a Boeing 727, registered as N278US, was in the middle of its takeoff roll. Simultaneously, a DC-9, registered as N3313L, had just entered the active runway via taxi. The two aircraft collided on the airfield, resulting in significant structural damage to the Boeing 727 and the total destruction of the DC-9.
The collision resulted in 8 fatalities aboard the DC-9, consisting of seven passengers and one crew member. The remaining 40 passengers and crew on the DC-9 survived the accident. On the Boeing 727, all 146 passengers and 8 crew members escaped without injury.
Findings
Dense fog significantly reduced visibility at the airport during the time of the accident, contributing to the collision between the aircraft on the takeoff roll and the aircraft taxiing onto the runway.