Pacific Southwest Airlines flight 182,
service from Sacramento to San Diego via
Los Angeles, was descending through
11,000ft on approach to San Diego-Linbergh
Field shortly before 9:00am on September
25, 1978. Along with Captain James
McFeron, First Officer Robert Fox, and
Flight Engineer Martin Whane, there were
four cabin attendants and 128 passengers
aboard the Boeing 727 that day. A few
minutes later, McFeron reported leaving
9,500ft and that the airport was in
sight. San Diego Approach control then
cleared 182 to make right traffic for a
visual approach to runway 27.
......Also in the air that morning was a
Cessna 172 on an instrument training
flight from Montgomery Field, another
local airport some six miles north of
Linbergh Field. The flight was
practicing ILS approaches into Linbergh
Field's runway 9 which it was completing
with the execution of a missed approach
and radar vectors back to the approach
course. Just as 182 was cleared for it's
visual approach, the 172 began it's
second missed approach and requested an
NDB approach to runway 27. The aircraft
was cleared to climb to the northeast
and was handed off to Approach control.
Meanwhile, approach called 182 to report
traffic at it's 12 o'clock to which
McFeron replied "we're looking."
Approach control then reported
additional traffic at 12 o'clock which
was the 172 climbing out on it's missed
approach.
First Officer Fox
replied "OK-we've got that other 12."
Approach then told the 172 to maintain a
heading of 070 degrees and at or below
3,500ft for radar vectoring. Following
this, Approach again called 182 to
advise them of the 172 climbing out of
1,700ft to which McFeron replied
"Traffic in sight." Approach then told
182 to maintain visual separation and to
contact Linbergh Field tower.
At this
point, 182 was descending to 3,200ft on
an easterly heading. The tower again
told 182 of the Cessna traffic ahead to
which McFeron replied "OK-we had it
there a minute ago...I think he's passed
off our right." 182 was then cleared to
land. Meanwhile, the 172 had
unexpectedly taken up an easterly
heading and continued to climb. As their
paths closed, conflict alerts began
going off at approach control, but
because 182 had previously reported
traffic in sight, they only called back
the 172 to remind them of traffic in the
vicinity.
There
was no reply. Flight 182 had overtaken
the climbing Cessna from almost directly
behind, clipping it's empennage with the
right inboard wing of the 727. The 172
broke up, exploded, and crashed near the
initial area of impact. The 727 was now
trailing fuel and fire erupted from the
damaged right wing. The aircraft entered
a steep bank to the right and continued
in this condition until impacting the
ground just north of Balboa Park. All
persons aboard the two aircraft were
killed as well as seven people on the
ground.
......Initial reports
of the incident were quick to place the
blame on the small aircraft, saying it
had "gotten in the way" of the PSA jet.
However, both aircraft were operating
under radar control and both were
operating visually. Initial NTSB reports
blamed the crew of flight 182 for not
maintaining visual separation after they
were instructed to do so from Approach
control. The report was not unanimously
accepted however. Also cited as a cause
of the incident was the 172's failure to
maintain it's assigned heading of 070.
It was also believed that San Diego
Approach control should have offered
more comprehensive radar separation
since it's technology could support it.
Controllers, however,
stated that, since 182 had reported
having the traffic in sight, they did
not feel necessary to issue altitude
restrictions to either aircraft. In
listening to the conversation between
controllers and 182, it is unclear what
First Officer Fox meant when he replied
"OK-we've got that other 12."
Nonetheless, McFeron did, at one point,
reply that the 172 was in sight.
Analysis of the CVR showed that the crew
did not maintain visual contact with the
aircraft and may not have ever had it in
sight. Just a few moments before impact,
McFeron asked the crew "Are we clear of
that Cessna?" to which Whane replied
"Supposed to be!" "I hope!" McFeron
said, followed by "Yeah-before we turned
downwind, I saw him about one
o'clock-probably behind us now.
" Six seconds before
impact, Fox said "There's one
underneath...I was looking at that
inbound there." These factors caused the
NTSB to to revise it rulings, finding
both crew error and ATC failure as
probable cause.
