Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fairfield, Illinois 62837
Sunday, June 2, 2002 13:27 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The captain reported that during a descent in IMC conditions, the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) sounded "traffic, traffic, traffic." The TCAS displayed a target 700 feet below, and 15 miles ahead of the flight. However, the TCAS did not issue a resolution advisory. The flight crew could not visually identify the traffic, and the captain instructed the first officer to stop the descent. The first officer disconnected the autopilot and then "quickly" leveled the airplane. During the level off, a flight attendant fell and suffered a fractured leg. Subsequently, a review of the TCAS and check with ATC revealed that the traffic was at FL 260, not FL 270. A review of the airline's operations manual revealed that deviation from an ATC clearance was authorized for a resolution advisory.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The first officer's abrupt level off.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/2/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1327
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Fairfield
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62837
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 382148N
Event Location Longitude 0882036W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1325 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID ENL
Elevation of weather observation facility 534
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 40
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 113
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12865
NTSB Notification Source SROC
NTSB Notification Date Jun 2 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1740
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 15 2003 4:03PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Louisville, KY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N694DL
NTSB Number NYC02LA110
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing
Aircraft Model 757-232
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 29726
Certified Max Gross Weight 232000
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 115
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Apr 29 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 12206
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Delta Airlines Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address Hartsfield International Airport
Aircraft Owner City Atlanta
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30320
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code DALA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code DEN
Departure City Fairfield
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1115
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code CVG
Destination City Covington
Destination State KY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 2 2002 4:09PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --