1996 Quincy Airport disaster

External videos
External videos
	"Disaster Strikes as Two Planes Collide on the Same Runway". Smithsonian Channel. March 10, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021.

United Express Flight 5925
	Overhead view of the Quincy airport.
Accident
Date	November 19, 1996
Summary	Runway incursion
Site	Quincy Municipal Airport, Gilmer Township, Adams County, Illinois, near Quincy, Illinois, United States ; 39°56′27.4″N 91°11′39.3″W / 39.940944°N 91.194250°W
Total fatalities	14 (Initially 2)
Total survivors	0 (Initially 12)
First aircraft
	; A United Express Beechcraft 1900C similar to the one involved.
Type	Beechcraft 1900C
Operator	Great Lakes Airlines for United Express
Call sign	LAKES AIR 251
Registration	N87GL
Flight origin	Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Stopover	Burlington Airport
Destination	Quincy Municipal Airport
Occupants	12
Passengers	10
Crew	2
Fatalities	12 (Initially 0)
Survivors	0 (Initially 12)
Second aircraft
	; A Beechcraft King Air A90 similar to the one involved.
Type	Beechcraft 65-A90 King Air
Operator	Private
Call sign	KING AIR 1127 DELTA
Registration	N1127D
Occupants	2
Passengers	0
Crew	2
Fatalities	2
Survivors	0

United Express Flight 5925, operated by Great Lakes Airlines with a Beechcraft 1900 twin turboprop, was a regularly scheduled flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Quincy, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Burlington, Iowa. On November 19, 1996, the aircraft collided on landing at Quincy with another Beechcraft, a private King Air, that was taking off from an intersecting runway. The crash was known as the Quincy runway disaster. Fourteen people (twelve on board the 1900 and two on board the King Air) were killed as a result.^[1]

Accident[edit]

United Express Flight 5925 had departed from Chicago at 15:25, with Captain Kate Gathje (30),^[4] First Officer Darren McCombs (24),^[5] and ten passengers. After a stop at Burlington, Iowa, the flight proceeded to Quincy. Two aircraft at Quincy were ready for departure when Flight 5925 was on approach. Both aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air and a Piper Cherokee, were proceeding to Runway 4. As Quincy is a non-towered airport, all three aircraft were communicating on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency. On approach, Captain Gathje inquired as to whether the King Air would hold short of the runway, or depart before their arrival. After receiving no response, Gathje called again and received a reply from the Cherokee that they were holding short of Runway 4. However, because of a simultaneous sound emitted by the ground proximity warning system in the 1900's cockpit, only part of the transmission was received by the 1900. As a result, the United Express crew misunderstood the transmission as an indication that both the King Air and the Cherokee would not take off until after Flight 5925 had cleared the runway.^[6]

Assuming that both planes were holding short, Flight 5925 landed on Runway 13. However, the King Air had taxied into position on Runway 4 and had begun its takeoff roll when Flight 5925 landed. Both aircraft collided at the intersection of Runways 4 and 13. The aircraft skidded for 110 feet (34 m), coming to rest alongside Runway 13, and caught fire. All 12 aboard the United Express flight survived the initial impact but were trapped inside by a jammed door. Several pilots in the vicinity of the crash came to the scene but were unable to open the doors of the aircraft before both planes were destroyed by fire. All 12 aboard Flight 5925 and both pilots of the King Air, Neal Reinwald (63) and Laura Winkleman Brooks (34), died from smoke inhalation.^[1]^: 19

Cause[edit]

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the cause of the accident was the King Air pilots' failure to effectively monitor both the common frequency and to scan for traffic. A contributing factor was the Cherokee's transmission at the same time as the United Express transmission. Lack of adequate rescue and firefighting equipment was cited as a factor in the high fatality rate.^[1]

In popular culture[edit]

The crash was featured in the 15th season of the television documentary series Mayday in an episode titled "Fatal Transmission", which featured interviews with witnesses and accident investigators and a dramatic reenactment of the crash.^[7]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Runway Collision, United Express Flight 5925 and Beechcraft King Air A90, Quincy Municipal Airport, Quincy, Illinois, November 19, 1996" (PDF). Aircraft Accident Report. National Transportation Safety Board. July 1, 1997. NTSB/AAR-97/04. Retrieved September 16, 2017. - This includes the response to Voorhis. The copy of the report at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University does not have the Voorhis response.
^ "FAA Registry (N87GL)". Federal Aviation Administration.
^ "FAA Registry (N1127D)". Federal Aviation Administration.
^ "Katherine Leah "Kate" Anderson Gathje (1966-1996)". www.findagrave.com. Find a Grave. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
^ "OBIT". Quad-City Times. November 23, 1996. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900C-1 N87GL Quincy Municipal Airport, IL (UIN)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^ "Fatal Transmission". Mayday. Season 15. 2016. Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel.

External links[edit]

Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
NTSB Response to Petition for Reconsideration from Mr. Ed Voorhis

[NTSB_report-1] "Runway Collision, United Express Flight 5925 and Beechcraft King Air A90, Quincy Municipal Airport, Quincy, Illinois, November 19, 1996" (PDF). Aircraft Accident Report. National Transportation Safety Board. July 1, 1997. NTSB/AAR-97/04. Retrieved September 16, 2017. - This includes the response to Voorhis. The copy of the report at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University does not have the Voorhis response.

[2] "FAA Registry (N87GL)". Federal Aviation Administration.

[3] "FAA Registry (N1127D)". Federal Aviation Administration.

[4] "Katherine Leah "Kate" Anderson Gathje (1966-1996)". www.findagrave.com. Find a Grave. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

[5] "OBIT". Quad-City Times. November 23, 1996. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

[ASN-6] Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900C-1 N87GL Quincy Municipal Airport, IL (UIN)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved November 27, 2020.

[Mayday_Fatal_Transmission-7] "Fatal Transmission". Mayday. Season 15. 2016. Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1990s
1990	Northwest Airlines Flight 5 Avianca Flight 052 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254 Death of Stevie Ray Vaughan Wayne County Airport runway collision
1991	Los Angeles runway disaster Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 United Airlines Flight 585 Merion air disaster Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 L'Express Airlines Flight 508 Continental Express Flight 2574 Vallejo helicopter crash
1992	CommutAir Flight 4821 Air Transport International Flight 805 USAir Flight 405 American Eagle Flight 5456 GP Express Airlines Flight 861 TWA Flight 843
1993	Lufthansa Flight 592 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46E Alan Kulwicki plane crash China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 American Airlines Flight 102 American International Airways Flight 808 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719
1994	United Express Flight 6291 Green Ramp disaster Federal Express Flight 705 Fairchild Air Force Base B-52 crash USAir Flight 1016 USAir Flight 427 American Eagle Flight 4184 TWA Flight 427 Flagship Airlines Flight 3379
1995	Air Transport International Flight 782 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident American Airlines Flight 1572 Tower Air Flight 41
1996	ValuJet Flight 592 Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 TWA Flight 800 FedEx Express Flight 1406 Quincy Airport disaster Airborne Express Flight 827 New Hampshire Learjet crash
1997	Comair Flight 3272 FedEx Express Flight 14 Korean Air Flight 801 Fine Air Flight 101 John Denver
1998	United Airlines Flight 863
1999	American Airlines Flight 1420 Martha's Vineyard plane crash South Dakota Learjet crash
This list is incomplete.

Accident[edit]

Cause[edit]

In popular culture[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]