2011 Ouichite mid-air collision

  

Northwest Airlines Flight 713
Quebec Skyways Flight 2180

Accident
Date	November 17, 2011 (2011-11-17)
Summary	Mid-air collision caused by heavy fog and failure of airport weather monitoring/radar systems, resulting in low visibility and controlled collision
Site	Ouichite, Arcansa, Tournesol
Total fatalities	507
Total injuries	0
Total survivors	0
First aircraft
Type	Boeing 757-200
Operator	Northwest Airlines
Registration	N533NW
Flight origin	Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Olympia, Astoria
Stopover	Ouichite-Émeric Vigouroux International Airport, Ouichite, Arcansa, Tournesol
Destination	Grand Llano International Airport, Grand Llano, Brazoria
Occupants	201
Passengers	192
Crew	9
Fatalities	201
Survivors	0
Second aircraft
Type	Boeing 747-200
Operator	Quebec Skyways
Registration	N898QC
Flight origin	Montreal International Airport, Montreal, Quebec
Destination	Mexico City International Airport, Mexico City, Mexico
Occupants	294
Passengers	280
Crew	14
Fatalities	294
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	12
Ground injuries	15

On 17 November 2011, Quebec Skyways Flight 2180, a Boeing 747 en route from Montreal, Quebec, to Mexico City, Mexico, and Northwest Airlines Flight 713, a Boeing 757 en route from Seattle, Astoria, to Grand Llano, Brazoria, collided 12 km (7 miles) south of downtown Ouichite. The crash killed all 495 people on board both planes, plus 12 casualties on the ground, making it the world's deadliest mid-air collision and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in North America. The crash was caused by the sudden failure of the airport’s weather radar tracking system, which, paired with heavy fog, resulted in Flight 713 making a controlled ascent into Flight 2180.

Aircraft involved

Northwest Airlines Flight 713

Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 was a Boeing 757-200, registration N533NW, stopping in Ouichite as part of a scheduled international Seattle–Ouichite–Grand Llano passenger service with 312 people on board. The crew on this flight consisted of Captain TBD (age TBD), First Officer TBD, and Flight Engineer TBD. TBD was a veteran pilot with TBD flying hours.

The plane involved had been delivered to Northwest Airlines in 2001, and had been a relatively trouble-free aircraft, clocking just under 15,000 hours by the time of the accident.

Quebec Skyways Flight 2180

Quebec Skyways Flight 2180, a Boeing 747-200 with registration N898QC was on a direct flight from Montreal to Mexico City. The crew consisted of Captain TBD (age TBD), First Officer TBD, Flight Engineer TBD, Navigator TBD, and Radio Operator TBD. TBD was highly experienced, with TBD flight hours.

N898QC had been delivered to Quebec Skyways in 1989, and was due to be retired the following year, due to the cost of maintaining it.

Accident

Flight 713 departed Ouichite at 14:21 local time(20:21 UTC) in heavy fog. Simultaneously, Flight 2180 was cruising over Ouichite. Both flights were controlled by tower controller Gerard Morigny. The Northwest Airlines plane was cleared to ascend to 15,000 feet (4,550 m), while the Quebec Skyways plane, travelling on the same airway but in the opposite direction, was cleared to maintain its cruising altitude of 17,000 feet (5,180 m). About then, the weather radar suddenly shut off and failures were reported in the aircraft ascent/descent control monitors. NWA 713 reported soon after that they had lost their radar feed and would continue climbing. Morigny cleared this, and contacted QCS 2180 to advise them on the failure of the systems and to maintain their current altitude. Unknowingly, however, the pilots of QCS 2180 were gradually descending into NWA 713.

At 14:26 local time, Morigny attempted to contact NWA 713, but received no reply. Suddenly, a loud boom was heard in the distance, The two aircraft collided, with the NWA plane crashing nose first into the left side of the QCS plane, around the area where the wing joined onto the fuselage. The NWA plane disintegrated almost upon impact, and large pieces of debris rocketed towards the ground. The QCS plane, crippled by the loss of its left wing, steeply descended and crashed into the ground at near-supersonic speed, disintegrating immediately on impact. In the end, all 201 people on board NWA 713 and all 294 people on QCS 2180 were killed.

The collision took place about 12 kilometres (7 mi) south of Ouichite. The wreckage of the Quebec Skyways aircraft landed in a field near a high school, at 37°35'09"N 97°22'00"W, killing a hitchhiker and a farmer passing by in a Chevrolet C10 pickup truck. The wreckage of the Astorian aircraft hit the ground in a suburb of Ouichite called Roissant-et-Sud, killing a further seven civilians in their homes. Two more died when part of the wing of NWA 713 struck a 1980s Venger sedan travelling along a road at 37°35'35"N 97°23'31"W. A first responder was asphyxiated and died at the scene of QCS 2180’s wreckage, bringing the total killed to 507. 15 more were severely injured in Roissant-et-Sud.

Aftermath

The incident had severe repercussions for Quebec Skyways. Before the incident, they had held a standard as a respected airline, and one that was especially comfortable and safe. After the crash, however, a media frenzy began across North America. Tabloid newspapers spread rumours that the pilots had been negligent and that Quebec Skyways had crammed passengers on to Flight 2180 to make extra money off ticket sales. Quebec Skyways attempted to disprove these claims, but they were finished in the eyes of the public. The media frenzy, coupled with an air of caution around flying, sent Quebec Skyways into bankruptcy. In 2014, its majority stakeholder, the Government of Quebec, announced they were spinning off the company and forming a new flag carrier of Quebec named Air Quebec.

The airport management also suffered heavily. Multiple lawsuits brought against them by the families of some of the victims resulted in massive payouts and huge losses. It took a government bailout to prevent the company running the airport, Tournesol Airports Ltd, from bankruptcy. Since then, the airport has mainly been used for smaller flights, with most larger flights switching to Tournesol City International Airport instead.

The incident resulted in new legislation being passed by the NAAA in 2012 that mandated monthly checks of airport weather detection and tracking systems, and a similar monthly inspection for airplanes.

Two memorials stand at the site of both NWA 713 and QCS 2180’s wreckages.

Victims

Nationalities of the victims

Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Ground	Total
Astoria	101	9	0	110
Brazoria	71	0	0	71
Quebec	98	4	0	102
Mexico	134	0	0	134
Tournesol	16	4	12	32
Manitoba	18	0	0	18
Sierra	29	0	0	29
Total	472	23	12	507