TWA Flight 553
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TWA Flight 553, registration N1063T, was a Douglas DC-9-15 enroute from Pittsburgh to Dayton that collided in mid-air with a Beechcraft Baron over Urbana, Ohio on March 9, 1967. All 21 passengers, and four crew members, were killed, along with the pilot of the Beechcraft.
Flight 553 had been cleared to descend from FL200 or 20,000 feet to 3,000 feet. As it descended through 4,500 feet in uncontrolled airspace, it collided with a Beechcraft Baron 55 that was not under air traffic control.
Visual flight rules were in effect at the time of the accident, with widely scattered thin clouds, and 6 to 7 miles visibility in haze. This meant it was the responsibility of the pilots on both aircraft to see and avoid each other. The NTSB determined that due to the high rate of descent of the DC-9 the pilots were not able to see the other plane in time to avoid a collision.
After this accident all aircraft under 10,000 feet were required to operate at speeds below 250 knots. It was also a contributing factor in the FAA's decision to create Terminal Control Area airspace, now called Class B airspace, around the busiest airports in the country. However the airspace around Dayton had only minor changes until it was reclassified as what would become Class C airspace in the late 1980s.
