Information wanted on Western Airlines flight 2605

[Graham2001]

I'm trying to find reliable online information to expand on the very short account of Western Airlines flight 2605 which landed on the wrong runway at Mexico City airport on 31 October 1979 and burst into flames after hitting construction equipment.

Wikipedia has a very short article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western...es_Flight_2605) which I would dearly like to expand.

As this accident involved a US carrier, was there an NTSB report?

[9V-SJH]

See the following URL for info. on this tragedy:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=19791031-0

[Gabriel]

Originally Posted by 9V-SJH

See the following URL for info. on this tragedy:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=19791031-0

I don't know the details, but from what's in that link, it was not just simply a landing in the wrong runway. Key points:
- The plane was cleared to land on 27R
- Apparently (given the NTSB recommendations shown there) it was a sidestep approach, meaning that the plane was supposed to do an instrument approach to 27L and, when in visual contact with the runway, make a side step to 27R.
- The airplane descended in fog busting the approach minimums of 600ft (that is a high minimum for a regular instrument approach, but not for a sidestep approach).
- The airplane touched down with the left main gear on the grass and the right one on the runway's shoulder.
- One of the NTSB recommendation was to publish separate approach plates for sidestep approaches.
- The tower warned the flight three times about the closed runway (according to a link in the wikipedia article).

(Note, the NTSB must have been an invited party in the investigation for being US the country of the operator, of the manufacturer and of registration of the airplane)

[3WE]

I think there's a CVR on Airdisaster.com. It might be fake, but then with it being a non-US crash, it might have leaked out?

In listening to it, there is confusion in the cockpit about what approach they are on versus what runway they are cleared to land on.

Classic case of a little confusion, but 'deciding' that everyting is OK because "how could things go wrong- every other approach I've ever done in my life worked out ok"

[Graham2001]

Originally Posted by 3WE

I think there's a CVR on Airdisaster.com. It might be fake, but then with it being a non-US crash, it might have leaked out?

In listening to it, there is confusion in the cockpit about what approach they are on versus what runway they are cleared to land on.

Classic case of a little confusion, but 'deciding' that everyting is OK because "how could things go wrong- every other approach I've ever done in my life worked out ok"

I've looked and the transcript does not appear to be there. Some further websearching bought up a note to the effect that it had been removed.

I found an earlier discussion (from 2005) on another fourm

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/130485/

But also a rather frustrating item from a news archive site, which implies that portions of the ATC conversation were included in news broadcasts & that the CVRs went to the US.

http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=57025

[bob m]

I recall hearing the CVR on this one years ago, a difficult one in its last monent, still huants me to this day, very sad.

[orangehuggy]

The most comprehensive description and analysis by far is in the December 1983 issue of Flying magazine pages 100 to 107.
http://books.google.com/books?id=8BV...page&q&f=false
Cheers!

[3WE]

Originally Posted by orangehuggy

The most comprehensive description and analysis by far is in the December 1983 issue of Flying magazine pages 100 to 107.
http://books.google.com/books?id=8BV...page&q&f=false
Cheers!

Len Morgan
Gordon Baxter

[3WE]

Originally Posted by Gabriel

I don't know the details...

It was a DC-10.

Care to speculate if that stiff connection between the gear and the wing might have affected the beak up some. (I know of a DC-9 that hit a truck and everyone lived).

[Gabriel]

Originally Posted by 3WE

It was a DC-10.

Care to speculate if that stiff connection between the gear and the wing might have affected the beak up some. (I know of a DC-9 that hit a truck and everyone lived).

From the Flying article, it seems to have kept both wings after the hard touchdown.

[Graham2001]

Another piece of frustration. Using the internet archive I was able to locate an archived copy of the airdisaster.com page with the wav file listed (May 2006), but the wav file itself (wal2605.wav) had not been archived.

I also used it to open a geocities page linked to off the aviation-safety.net page which points to a vanity press book written by someone claiming to have been a member of Western Airline 2605s cabin crew and who seems to have been pushing some kind of conspiracy theory from what's on the site.

http://web.archive.org/web/200910220.../blackbox.html

There's a placeholder where he claims to have the full cvr transcripts and that he's going to post them 'soon'

Also found another discussion of the recording:

http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...-tapes-cd.html

And something that appears to quote from contemporary press accounts:

http://www.taxiways.de/DC-10/accident/N903WA.html

[Evan]

It was a DGAC (Mexican) investigation. Don't have the report but the FAA provides this summary of the investigation:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-0026 79/10/31 MEXICO CITY,MEX DOUGLAS DC-10 CR- 11 0 2 SCHED INTERNATL PASSG SRV AIRLINE TRANSPORT, AGE
TIME - 0542 N903WA PX- 61 13 2 53, 31500 TOTAL HOURS,
DAMAGE-DESTROYED OT- 0 0 0 2248 IN TYPE, INSTRUMENT
RATED.
NAME OF AIRPORT - LICENCIADO BENITO
OPERATOR - WESTERN AIR LINES,INC.
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
LOS ANGELES,CA MEXICO CITY,MEX
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
COLLIDED WITH: AUTOMOBILE LANDING: GO-AROUND
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - IMPROPER IFR OPERATION
PILOT IN COMMAND - FAILED TO FOLLOW APPROVED PROCEDURES,DIRECTIVES,ETC.
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - RUNWAY CLOSED
FIRE AFTER IMPACT
REMARKS- INVEST & REPORTED BY GOVT OF MEX.RWY 23R ASSIGNED,INITIAL T/D OFF 23L.HIT TRUCK.WX-FOG.