# Aircraft Accident Report, Southern Airways, Inc., DC-9, N97S, Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, November 14, 1970

Report on the w:Southern Airways Flight 932 crash, which resulted in the death of 72 (including the entire Marshall Thundering Herd football team.)
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AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT SOUTHERN AIRWAYS INC. DC-9, N97S Tri-State Airport Huntington, West Virginia November 14, 1970
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Washington, D. C., 20591 REPORT NUMBER, NTSB-AAR-72-11
AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT SOUTHERN AIRWAYS, INC. DC-9, N97S Tri-State Airport Huntington, West Virginia November 14, 1970 ADOPTED: April 14, 1972.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Washington, D. C. 20591 REPORT NUMBER: NTSB-AAR-72-11
TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE
| 1. Report No NTSB-AAR-72-11 | 2. Government Ascession No. | 3. Recipient's Catalog No. | 3. Recipient's Catalog No. |
| 4. Title and Subtitle Aircraft Accident Report, Southern Airways, Inc., DC-9, N97S, Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, November 14, 1970 | 4. Title and Subtitle Aircraft Accident Report, Southern Airways, Inc., DC-9, N97S, Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, November 14, 1970 | 5. Report Date April 14, 1972 | 5. Report Date April 14, 1972 |
| 6. Performing Organization Code ||
| 7. Author (s) | 7. Author (s) | 8. Performing Organization Report No. | 8. Performing Organization Report No. |
| 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Bureau of Aviation Safety National Transportation Safety Board Washington, D. C. 20591 | 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Bureau of Aviation Safety National Transportation Safety Board Washington, D. C. 20591 | 10. Work Unit No. | 10. Work Unit No. |
| 11. Contract or Grant No. ||
| 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Aircraft Accident Report November 14, 1970 ||
| 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Aircraft Accident Report November 14, 1970 ||
| 14. Sponsoring Agency Code ||
| 15. Supplementary Notes ||||
| 16. Abstract Southern Airways Inc., DC-9, Np7S, operating as charter Flight 932, crashed during a landing attempt at the Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, at approximately 1936 e.s.t. on November 14, 1970. All 75 occupants, including 71 passengers and four crewmembers, were fatally injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The flight, chartered to transport the Marshall University football team and boosters from Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington, West Virginia, was attempting a nonprecision instrument landing approach to Runway 11 at the time of the accident. The crash occurred following impact with trees on a hill approximately 1 mile west of the runway threshold. The elevation of the broken trees at the initial impact site was approximately 922 feet m.s.l. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a nonprecision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment. The Board has been unable to determine the reason for this descent although the two most likely explanations are (a) improper use of cockpit instruction data, or (b) an altimetry system error. ||||
| 17. Key Words Aircraft accident, character operation, crew coordination, misuse of altitude information, vertical guidance in nonprecision approaches. | 17. Key Words Aircraft accident, character operation, crew coordination, misuse of altitude information, vertical guidance in nonprecision approaches. | 18. Distribution Statement Released to Public Unlimited Distribution | 18. Distribution Statement Released to Public Unlimited Distribution |
| 19. Security Classification (of this report) UNCLASSIFIED | 20. Security Classification (of this page) UNCLASSIFIED | 21. No. of Pages 78 | 22. Price |
NTSB Form 1765.2 (11/70)
SOUTHERN AIRWAYS, INC., DC-9, N97S TRI-STATE AIRPORT, HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA NOVEMBER 14, 1970 TABLE OF CONTENTS
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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