Laguardia Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Flushing, New York 11371
Saturday, October 19, 1996 16:38 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The Safety Board's full report is available at www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. NTSB Report AAR-97/03. About 1638 eastern daylight time, on October 19, 1996, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88, N914DL, operated by Delta Air Lines, Inc., as flight 554, struck the approach light structure and the end of the runway deck during the approach to land on runway 13 at the LaGuardia Airport (LGA), in Flushing, New York. Flight 554 was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121, as a scheduled, domestic passenger flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Flushing. The flight departed the William B. Hartsfield International Airport at Atlanta, Georgia, about 1441, with two flightcrew members, three flight attendants, and 58 passengers on board. Three passengers reported minor injuries; no injuries were reported by the remaining 60 occupants. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage, wings (including slats and flaps), main landing gear, and both engines. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed for the approach to runway 13; flight 554 was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The Safety Board's full report is available at www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. NTSB Report AAR-97/03. the inability of the captain, because of his use of monovision contact lenses, to overcome his misperception of the airplane's position relative to the runway during the visual portion of the approach. This misperception occurred because of visual illusions produced by the approach over water in limited light conditions, the absence of visible ground features, the rain and fog, and the irregular spacing of the runway lights. Contributing to the accident was the lack of instantaneous vertical speed information available to the pilot not flying, and the incomplete guidance available to optometrists, aviation medical examiners, and pilots regarding the prescription of unapproved monovision contact lenses for use by pilots. (NTSB Report AAR-97/03)

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/19/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1638
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City FLUSHING
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11371
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LAGUARDIA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LGA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 22
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1634 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LGA
Elevation of weather observation facility 22
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0.5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Heavy
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None 60
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1936
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 19 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1710
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:25AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N914DL
NTSB Number NYC97MA005
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft Model MD-88
Aircraft Series Identifier MD-88
Aircraft Serial Number 49545
Certified Max Gross Weight 149500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 147
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Sep 14 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 275
Airframe Hours 24420
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY
Aircraft Owner Street Address RODNEY SQUARE NORTH
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19890
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DELTA AIR LINES, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 20706
Operator City ATLANTA ARPT
Operator State GA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 30320
Operator Code DALA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger/Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ATL
Departure City ATLANTA
Departure State GA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1441
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LGA
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 7000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --