ACCIDENT OF HL7339 (46960/237)
December 23rd 1983, time: 15:00 AST
NTSB report / statistics
While taxying out in fog, the KAL crew became disoriented and ended up on the wrong runway. During the takeoff run, the aircraft collided head-on with South Central Air Flight 59, a Piper Pa-31 which was taking off uring Runway 6L-24R for a flight to Kenai. The 9 occupants of N35206 were injured. The DC-10 overran the runway by 1434ft and came to rest 40ft right of the extended centreline. PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of the pilot of Korean Air Lines Flight 084 to follow accepted procedures during taxi, which caused him to become disoriented while selecting the runway; the failure of the pilot to use the compass to confirm his position; and the decision of the pilot to take off when he was unsure that the aircraft was positioned on the correct runway. Contributing to the accident was the fog, which reduced visibility to a point that the pilot could not ascertain his position visually and the control tower personnel could not assist the pilot. Also contributing to the accident was a lack of legible taxiway and runway signs at several intersections passed by Flight 084 while it was taxying.
Crew: 0 fatalities / 3 on board
Passengers: 0 fatalities / 0 on board
Total: 0 fatalities / 3 on board
Location: Anchorage IAP, AK (USA)
Phase: Take-off
Nature: Freight
Flight: Anchorage IAP, AK - Los Angeles IAP, CA (Flightnumber 084)
Source: Aviation Safety Network / NTSB