Delta Airlines flight 1086

The aircraft involved in the accident seen in Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport on January 2015
Accident
Date	5 March 2015 (2015-03-05)
Summary	Runway excursion resulting in collision with seawall and perimeter fence; cause is currently under investigation
Site	LaGuardia Airport, Queens, New York 73°01′05″N 40°07′52″W / 73.01806°N 40.13111°W / 73.01806; -40.13111
Total fatalities	0
Total injuries	24
Total missing	0
Total survivors	132 (all)
Aircraft type	Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas MD-88
Operator	Delta Air Lines
Registration	N909DL
Flight origin	Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Destination	LaGuardia Airport, New York, New York, USA
Passengers	127
Crew	5
Fatalities	0
Injuries	24
Survivors	132

Crash site

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Location of the crash site in the USA

Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Atlanta and New York. On March 5, 2015, the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft ran off the end of the runway 13^[1] upon landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} The plane crashed through a perimeter fence before coming to a halt on an embankment a few meters short of Flushing Bay. There were no fatalities, although several people suffered minor injuries. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation by the NTSB.^[8]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-88, registration number N909DL, serial number 49540, line number 1395. It was owned by the Wilmington Trust Company of Wilmington, Delaware, and operated by Delta Airlines. The aircraft was assembled in 1987, and first registered on January 19, 1988. It has been operated by Delta Airlines ever since the aircraft was put into airline service. It was built at the Douglas plant in Long Beach, California.

Background

Flight 1086 took off from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 8:45am EST, and was scheduled to land at LaGuardia Airport at 10:48 am. It was snowing at the time of arrival at LaGuardia Airport. Two other planes landed immediately ahead of DL1086, and reported no problems.

Incident

The aircraft was approaching runway 13 to land on what appeared to be a normal final approach. Upon landing, the MD-88 veered off the left side of the runway shortly after touchdown, about 3,000 feet (910 m) from the approach end of the runway, on a heading approximately 10 degrees left of the runway heading. About 4,100 feet (1,200 m) from the approach end of the runway, the aircraft ran up the berm and the left wing struck the airport perimeter fence. The aircraft then turned back onto a heading parallel with runway 13, and continued in this direction for another 900 feet (270 m) before coming to rest about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) from the approach end of runway 13, with the nose of the aircraft hanging over the berm.^[9] The left wing of the aircraft destroyed approximately 940 feet (290 m) of airport perimeter fence.^[9] Runway 13 was closed until the next morning as emergency services cleared the accident site.^[10] The airport was closed immediately after the accident at approximately 11:00 am, and was not reopened until 7:00 pm.^{[citation needed]}

Several passengers took pictures and videos of the aircraft and site after the accident; these were quickly circulating on the internet shortly after the accident.

Investigation

Early reports are that the spoilers did not deploy. ^{[citation needed]}

It is also not clear whether pilot error played any role, but the crew of the plane certainly deserve credit for managing a quick and complete evacuation, especially since the aircraft was leaking fuel. The Associated Press has a good roundup of possible causes the NTSB will investigate.^[11]

According to a Wall Street Journal article published March 9, 2015, "pilots and other safety experts have long known that when the MD-88's reversers are deployed, its rudder...sometimes may not be powerful enough to control deviations to the left or right from the center of a runway...safety board investigators, among other things, are looking to see if this tendency played any role in the crash.." referring to the crash of an MD-88 at New York City's La Guardia ^[12]

Passenger count

People on board by nationality

Nationality	No.
Canada	2
Brazil	1
United States	129
Total	132

NFL player Larry Donnell for the NY Giants was also onboard DL1086.^[13]

References