# American Airlines Flight 625

American Airlines Flight 625, a Boeing 727-100, crashed at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on April 27, 1976, while on a domestic scheduled passenger flight originating at T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island and ending at Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, with an intermediate stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Out of the 88 occupants on board, 37 were killed in the accident.

## Background

The airport in St. Thomas was notorious among pilots for its short (4,658 feet (1,420 m)) runway. In fact, the Boeing 727 was the heaviest aircraft type authorized to use it, and even then it was only authorized in one direction.

### Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 727-195 registered as N1963. It was the 499th Boeing 727 ever built. It had logged a total of 21926 hours of flying time. The aircraft was equipped with three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A engines.

### Crew

The captain onboard flight 625 was 54-year-old Authur Bujnowski. He had 22,225 flight hours, with about 10,000 being on the 727. First officer Edward Offchiss was 36, and had 2,500 of his 8,000 flight hours on the 727. Flight engineer Donald Meatler was 45, with 9,500 flight hours, with 8,000 being in the 727.$^{:40–41}$

## Accident

The American Airlines Boeing 727-195, registration N1963, overran the departure end of Runway 9 when landing at Harry S. Truman airport. The aircraft ran off the end of the runway and into a Shell gas station, killing 37 (35 passengers and 2 flight attendants) of the 88 on board. Thirty-eight other passengers and crew were injured, and one person on the ground was seriously injured. The probable cause was the captain's actions and his judgment in not being aware that when he touched down 2,300 feet (700 m) down the 4,658-foot (1,420 m) runway, he did not have enough distance to perform a go-around.

## Investigation

Ultimately, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the accident to pilot error on the approach. The maximum flap setting of 40 degrees was never applied, which meant that the aircraft's speed was 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) higher than V$_{REF}$ as it crossed the runway threshold. This, combined with the fact that the aircraft 'floated' from turbulent winds in the area, meant that it was already 2,300 feet (700 m) down the runway at the point of touchdown. The pilots did not brake, and proceeded to apply full throttle three seconds after touchdown in an attempt at a go-around. However, they were unable to reach takeoff speed because the 727's engines are slow-responding, taking about 6.6 seconds to power up. After five seconds of waiting for power, and with only 700 feet (210 m) of runway left, the pilot panicked, according to the report, and applied full brakes. Further, the pilot forgot to apply reverse engine thrust until immediately before impact.

## Aftermath

As a result of the accident, American Airlines ended all jet flights to St. Thomas, flying instead to St. Croix (which had a 7,600 foot runway at the time). American Airlines passengers were then flown to St. Thomas in Convair 440 propeller-driven aircraft from St. Croix, with these flights being operated by a wholly owned subsidiary, American Inter-Island Airlines. The Convair 440 aircraft were owned by American Airlines and flown and maintained via contract by Antilles Air Boats, a seaplane operator in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Jet flights operated by American resumed when a new runway at St. Thomas was constructed with a length of 7,000 feet (2,100 m).

## In popular culture

American Airlines Flight 625 was specifically mentioned in the movie Rain Man.