What happened
On December 3, 1990, a collision occurred at the intersection of runways 09/27 and 03C/21C at Detroit-Metropolitan-Wayne County Airport, Michigan. The incident involved two Northwest Airlines aircraft: a Boeing 727 (registration N278US) and a DC-9 (registration N3313L).
At approximately 13:45 EST, the Boeing 727 was in its takeoff roll when it struck the DC-9, which had recently taxied onto the active runway. The collision took place amidst dense fog conditions. The impact resulted in the destruction of the DC-9 and significant damage to the Boeing 727. Among the passengers and crew on the DC-9, there were 8 fatalities (seven passengers and one crew member). All 146 passengers and eight crew members aboard the Boeing 727 escaped without injury.
Findings
Investigations identified several contributing factors to the accident. A primary cause was a lack of proper crew coordination, specifically involving a reversal of roles among the pilots of the DC-9, which prevented them from stopping their taxi or notifying ground control regarding their position on the runway.
Additional findings included:
- Deficiencies in air traffic control services at Detroit tower, such as inadequate visibility monitoring, failure to use progressive taxi instructions during low visibility, and the issuance of confusing taxi instructions.
- Inadequate supervision of staff levels and deficiencies in airport surface markings, signage, and lighting.
- A lack of sufficient cockpit resource management training provided by Northwest Airlines to its flight crews.
Furthermore, the failure of the DC-9's internal tailcone release mechanism contributed to the death toll, while improper evacuation procedures by the DC-9 crew increased the severity of injuries.