St. Louis, Missouri

Lore & Background

On July 23, 1973, Ozark Air Lines Flight 809, operated by a Fairchild-Hiller FH-227 (registration N4215), was scheduled to fly from Nashville, Tennessee, to St. Louis, Missouri, with four intermediate stops. The segments to Clarksville, Paducah, Cape Girardeau, and Marion proceeded normally. At Marion, several persons who boarded family or friends reported the sky 'didn't look good.' The flight departed Marion at 1705 en route to St. Louis. At 1726 it arrived in the vicinity of St. Louis, where visibility was reported as hazy. At 1732 the flight entered an area of thunderstorm cells around St. Louis International Airport. The pilot told passengers they were approaching turbulence. At 1742 the controller reported thunderstorms passing south of the runway, directly in Flight 809's path—the last transmission to the flight. The aircraft crashed 2 miles short of the runway, killing 38 of the 44 persons aboard. Witnesses saw the flight 'suddenly ascend to 400 or 500 feet' and 'then rapidly descend to 200 feet,' following which it was struck by lightning. A Trans World Airlines flight landing just before reported a strong updraft and executed a missed approach. The captain survived and reported seeing hail, pulling the control stick, and seeing fire after impact. The NTSB concluded the crash was caused by a severe downdraft and the captain's decision to continue into a known severe storm area, influenced by the lack of timely warning from the weather service and improper assessment by the dispatcher.

In Their Own Story

The controller vectored Flight 809 into Runway 30L at St. Louis. Although the flight crew knew thunderstorms were in the vicinity, the controller's lack of urgency seemed to lead them to believe they could land ahead of the storms. At 1742, the controller reported thunderstorms passing south of the runway, directly in the flight's path—the last transmission. The aircraft descended below the glide slope, crashing short of the runway. Witnesses saw it suddenly ascend to 400 or 500 feet, then rapidly descend to 200 feet, followed by a lightning strike. The aircraft performed several 'evasive maneuvers' before crashing into trees. All witnesses reported heavy rain. The aircraft broke into several pieces; the cockpit area was clear of the main wreckage. Four passengers were thrown clear at impact; all survived. The remainder of the fuselage was broken open; all in that area were killed upon impact. The aircraft was found in a high nose-up attitude at impact. No mechanical defects other than an inoperative fuel pump were reported. The NTSB questioned why the controller had not indicated the storm's severity and why the flight had not requested a different path to avoid the storm.

Reader's Guide

St. Louis International Airport is the crash site of Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 on July 23, 1973. The flight crashed 2 miles short of Runway 30L in a wooded ravine next to a residential area in Normandy, Missouri, near the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The approach controller vectored the flight into the runway, but the flight crew's belief they could land ahead of storms, influenced by the controller's lack of urgency, led to disaster. The NTSB concluded the crash was caused by a severe downdraft associated with a nearby thunderstorm and the captain's decision to continue into a known severe storm area. The captain's decision was influenced by the lack of timely warning by the weather service and improper assessment by the dispatcher. Witnesses reported heavy rain, lightning, and the aircraft performing evasive maneuvers before crashing. A Trans World Airlines flight landing just before reported a strong updraft and executed a missed approach. The crash killed 38 of 44 persons aboard. The aircraft was a Fairchild-Hiller FH-227, registration N4215.

Did You Know?

• The crash of Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 on July 23, 1973, killed 38 of the 44 persons aboard.
• The aircraft crashed 2 miles short of the runway in a wooded ravine next to a residential area in Normandy, Missouri, near the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
• A Trans World Airlines flight landing just before Flight 809 reported a strong updraft and was forced to execute a missed approach.
• The captain survived the crash and reported seeing hail, pulling the control stick, and seeing fire after impact.
• The NTSB concluded the crash was caused by a severe downdraft and the captain's decision to continue into a known severe storm area, influenced by lack of timely warning from the weather service.