Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Houston Intercontinental Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Houston, Texas 77205
Wednesday, March 1, 1989 10:37 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
TWA FLT 806 (DC-9) WAS NW OF ARPT (FOR ILS RWY 9 APCH) AS CONTINENTAL FLT 122 (DC-9) WAS SW OF ARPT FOR SAME APCH. BOTH WERE IN IMC, BEING VCTRD BY FINAL TRACON CTLR (WORKING 2 SECTORS & CTLG 23 ACFT). AS FLT 122 WAS APCHG LOCALIZER (LOC) & HDG 060 DEG AT 3000' MSL, FLT 806 WAS ABT 8 MI NW OF FLT 122 & WAS CLRD TO INTERCEPT LOC. CTLR TMTD TO FLT 122 'FOUR FM THE MARKER, MAINT 2000 UNTIL ESTABLISHED ON THE LOC, CLRD ILS RWY 9 APCH, AND ARE YOU GOING THRU THE LOC TOO?' FLT 122 REPLIED 'YES SIR, YOU NEVER TOLD US TO INTERCEPT.' CTLR THEN TOLD FLT 122 'MAINT 3500 & TURN LEFT 360,' MEANING TO TURN TO A HDG OF 360 DEG. FLT 122 THOUGHT CTLR WANTED A 360 DEG CIRCLING TURN & BGN A RGT TURN. WHILE CIRCLING, FLT 122 ASKED FOR A HDG TO ROLL OUT ON. CTLR SAID TO FLY HDG 230. CTLR THEN REALIZED THE 2 ACFT WERE CONVERGING. HE TOLD FLT 122 TO DCND TO 2000' & TMTD FOR 'CONTINENTAL 806' TO MAINT 3500'. SINCE CTLR USED WRONG COMPANY DESIGNATOR, TWA FLT 806 DID NOT RESPOND. RADAR SHOWED THE 2 ACFT PASSED AT ABT 3100' WITH .079 MI SEPN.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
FAILURE OF THE TRACON FINAL APPROACH CONTROLLER TO ASSURE RADAR SEPARATION BETWEEN THE AIRCRAFT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: INADEQUATE SUPERVISION BY THE ATC SUPERVISOR, EXCESSIVE WORKLOAD FOR THE CONTROLLER, UNCLEAR INSTRUCTIONS BY THE CONTROLLER, AND A MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE ATC CLEARANCE BY THE FLIGHT CREW OF CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 122.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 3/1/1989 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1037 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | HOUSTON |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77205 |
| Event Date Year | 1989 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IAH |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 7 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 98 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 951 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IAH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 98 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 12 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 185 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 5074 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 10 1989 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1200 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | 41852 |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 9 2001 10:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N820NY | N918TW |
| NTSB Number | FTW89IA064A | FTW89IA064B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- | -- |
| Damage | None | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | MCDONNELL DOUGLAS | MCDONNELL DOUGLAS |
| Aircraft Model | DC-9-82 | DC-9-82 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | DC-9-82 | DC-9-82 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 49480 | 49367 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 140000 | 140000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 149 | 149 |
| Number of Engines | 2 | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | -- | -- |
| ELT Installed | No | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | TAC 820 CORP | FIRST SECURITY BANK OF UTAH |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 333 CLAY ST. | 79 SOUTH MAIN ST. |
| Aircraft Owner City | HOUSTON | SALT LAKE CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | ||
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77002 | 84111 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- | -- |
| Operator Name | CONTINENTAL AIRLINES | TRANS WORLD AIRLINES |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No | No |
| Operator Street Address | INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT | P.O. BOX 10236 LAMBERT FLD. |
| Operator City | HOUSTON | ST. LOUIS |
| Operator State | TX | MO |
| Operator Country | ||
| Operator Zip code | 77002 | 63145 |
| Operator Code | CALA | TWAA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Scheduled | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SAT | AUS |
| Departure City | SAN ANTONIO | AUSTIN |
| Departure State | TX | TX |
| Departure Country | ||
| Departure Time | 1000 | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | IAH | IAH |
| Destination City | HOUSTON | HOUSTON |
| Destination State | TX | TX |
| Destination Country | ||
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:30AM | Jan 2 2001 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 9 | 9 |
| Runway Length | 9999 | 9999 |
| Runway Width | 150 | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |