Today marks 46 years since a major air crash involving an American Airlines Boeing 727. Operating flight 625 from Providence to Saint Thomas via New York JFK, the aircraft suffered a fatal runway overrun while landing at its final destination in the US Virgin Islands. Let's take a look back in time to see how the disaster unfolded.
The flight and aircraft in question
American Airlines flight 625 was a multi-leg service that originated at T. F. Green Airport (PVD) in Providence, Rhode Island. It had one intermediate stop, namely American's New York JFK hub. After this, it traveled southbound on the longer of its two legs, whereby its final destination was Harry S Truman Airport (STT).
This facility is now known as Cyril E King Airport, and it serves the island of Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. American still serves it today, flying there from Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, and Philadelphia all year round, and Chicago O'Hare and New York JFK on a seasonal basis. Its runway is now 2,100 meters long, but 46 years ago, it was much shorter, at just 1,420 meters.
On April 27th, 1976, the aircraft operating the flight was a Boeing 727 registered as N1963. Data from ATDB.aero shows that it was just over eight years old at the time, with American having received it brand-new in December 1967. According to the Aviation Safety Network, there were 81 passengers and seven crew onboard.
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Disaster in Saint Thomas
The first leg of the flight went without a hitch, and it departed New York for its onward journey at around 11:00 local time. Just over three hours later, at 15:04 local time, the 727 was on its approach to Saint Thomas when the crew opted to switch from an IFR flight plan, instead choosing to fly towards runway 09 visually.
However, by the time the aircraft reached the (infamously short) runway's threshold, it was traveling around 10 knots faster than should have been the case. A factor in this may have been the fact that the crew only lowered the aircraft's flaps to 30 degrees. This contradicted the 40 degrees prescribed by American Airlines.
Due to the speed, as well as turbulence during the flare, the aircraft floated beyond the planned touchdown point. After touching down much later than planned, the crew attempted to make a go-around. However, with the throttles slow to respond, they instead tried to apply the brakes, but, without the use of reverse thrust, the plane couldn't stop in time, and crashed beyond the end of the runway.
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Impact and aftermath
Sadly, the crash killed 35 passengers and two crew members onboard the flight. Of the 51 survivors, 38 (plus one on the ground) were injured as a result. American Airlines still uses the flight number AA625 today, but on an unrelated domestic route from San Diego to Phoenix. In film, the movie Rain Man refers to the crash.
The accident also prompted operational changes at the carrier. Specifically, it diverted its jet-operated Saint Thomas-bound flights to La Croix, another US Virgin Islands airport with a longer runway. From there, passengers continued their journey on Convair 440 turboprops operated by American Inter-Island Airlines. The carrier returned to Saint Thomas after its runway was extended.
What do you make of this accident? Have you ever flown with American airlines to Saint Thomas? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Source: Aviation Safety Network