 The aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 1977 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 14 September 1979 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Near Sarroch, Italy 39°06′19″N 8°57′34″E / 39.10528°N 8.95944°E / 39.10528; 8.95944 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Operator | Aero Trasporti Italiani |
| Call sign | ATI 12 |
| Registration | I-ATJC |
| Flight origin | Alghero-Fertilia Airport |
| Stopover | Cagliari-Elmas Airport |
| Destination | Rome Fiumicino Airport |
| Passengers | 27 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 31 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 12 was a scheduled flight from Alghero-Fertilia Airport in northwest Sardinia to Rome Fiumicino Airport with a scheduled stop at Cagliari-Elmas Airport in southern Sardinia. On September 14, 1979, the Douglas DC-9 operating the flight struck a rocky mountainside during an attempted landing at Cagliari, resulting in the loss of all 31 passengers and crew on board. The crash was caused by misinterpreting ATC instructions leading to the flight colliding with terrain.
Flight
The first officer contacted the controller at Cagliari at 00:23, asking for a weather report. The controller replied that runway 14 was in use, a wind from 190° at 8 knots, and a visibility of 7 km (4.3 mi). He also stated there were thunderstorms without precipitation, south-east and south-west of the airport. After contacting the Cagliari Tower controller at 00:26, the flight was cleared to descend to the transition altitude of 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Having in front of them a consistent formation of cumulonimbus clouds, the first officer radioed their intention to make a 360° turn to further lower the altitude and thus avoid the cloud formations. The controller, not having traffic in the area, authorized the manoeuvre, and first officer then announced the intention to leave 7,500 ft (2,300 m) for 3,000 ft (910 m). The controller then asked the flight if they had visual contact with the ground, but this was not the case. The clearance was amended to go down to 6000 feet instead of 3000 feet. At 00:30 the flight reported that it was in visual contact with the ground, and that it was about to leave 6000 ft for 3000 ft. The controller confirmed this, adding that it had started to rain at the airport in the meantime. The aircraft however did not complete the planned 360° turn, thus finding itself with a different heading from that initially planned.
After reaching 3000 feet, the flight was cleared for the approach. The first officer confirmed this and announced that they would start the final approach with a slight deviation to the right of the beacon. At 00:34 the first officer asked the controller to confirm that the ILS system was inoperative, which it was. At this stage of the flight the crew became unaware of their position. The captain believed he was flying over the sea, further south than the actual position of the aircraft, while the first officer rightly believed he was flying over the mountainous terrain of southern Sardinia. In the last minute and a half of the flight, the captain asked the first officer to lower the undercarriage and continued the descent. At an altitude of 2000 feet (610 m) the DC-9 hit the rocky mountainside of Conca d'Oru with the lower part of the fuselage, causing the aircraft to break up. A fire erupted. The point of impact was 18 km (11 mi) south-west of the airport.
Aircraft
The plane was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, built in 1975 and delivered new to Aero Trasporti Italiani registered as I-ATJC. The aircraft had logged about 10000 hours at the time of the crash.
References
- "Italian Jetliner Crashes in Sardinia, Killing all 31 Aboard". The Miami Herald. Herald Wire Services. 15 September 1979. p. 20-A – via Newspapers.com.
- "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 I-ATJC Sarroch". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979 (1979) | |
|---|---|
| Jan 30 Varig Flight 967Feb 12 Air Rhodesia Flight 827Feb 17 Air New Zealand Flight 4374Mar 14 Alia Flight 600Mar 17 Aeroflot Flight 1691Mar 26 Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crashMar 29 Quebecair Flight 255Apr 4 TWA Flight 841Apr 23 SAETA Flight 011May 25 American Airlines Flight 191May 30 Downeast Airlines Flight 46Jun 17 Air New England Flight 248Jun 20 American Airlines Flight 293Jul 11 Garuda Fokker F28 crashJul 26 Lufthansa Cargo Flight 527Jul 31 Dan-Air Flight 0034Aug 11 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collisionAug 29 Aeroflot Flight 5484Sep 14 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 12Oct 7 Swissair Flight 316Oct 31 Western Airlines Flight 2605Nov 11 Manises UFO incidentNov 15 American Airlines Flight 444Nov 26 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740Nov 28 Air New Zealand Flight 901Dec 18 Mosfellsheiði air crashesDec 23 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash | |
| 1978 ◄ ► 1980 |