Registration N163SW Passengers 6 Operator SkyWest Airlines Total survivors 0 | Flight origin Pocatello Airport Date 15 January 1987 Total fatalities 10 (all) Location Salt Lake City | |
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Summary Mid-air collision caused by pilot error on Mooney M-20 aircraft Site near South Valley Regional Airport, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Type Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II Destination Salt Lake City International Airport Similar Northwest Airlink Flight 2268, American Eagle Flight 5452, Thai Airways Flight 365, 1987 Indianapolis Ramada I, Finnair Flight 915 | ||
On January 15, 1987, at 12:52 local time, SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834 a Swearingen SA-226TC (METRO II), and a Mooney M20 were involved in a midair collision near Kearns, Utah. The two pilots and six passengers aboard the METRO II and the two pilots aboard the Mooney were killed.
Contents
Collision
The SkyWest Airlines aircraft, which was 30 minutes late, was on final approach to Runway 34 of Salt Lake City International Airport when the collision occurred. The Mooney M-20 had just taken off from South Valley Regional Airport and had two crew, a pilot and a student pilot. The aircraft collided in midair and fell to the ground. Bodies were scattered over a one-mile-square area. A temporary morgue was set up at a nearby church to identify the victims of the disaster. The main section of the SkyWest Airlines aircraft came to rest in the middle of a suburban street after sliding through a chain-link fence. Many people reported hearing a "big boom" and then "parts were flying everywhere". In a later interview, the air traffic controller on duty claimed that the SkyWest Airlines aircraft was initiating a 90-degree turn when the collision occurred.
Investigation
The investigation into this accident ultimately blamed the Mooney M-20 instructor pilot for straying into the Salt Lake City airport radar service area. The investigation also criticised the lack of a Mode-C transponder and the limitations of air traffic control collision protection.