This month's Iconic Image is...
PSA Flight 182
Intro
This photograph was taken on September 28, 1978, in San Diego, California. It depicts a jetliner with a burning wing that is plunging toward the earth at high speed with a long smoke trail behind it. This image would become a symbol of one of the worst aviation accidents in the 20th century. It was one that would forever change safety regulations on commercial flight.
Part I
September 28, 1978, was a day that began like any other for the people of California. On that day, hundreds planes took off and landed at the airports in the state. One of them was PSA Flight 182. The flight took off from San Francisco at 8 AM. Onboard were 7 crew members and 128 passengers. Flying the plane were, Captain James McFeron, First Officer Robert Fox, and Flight Engineer Martin Wahne. All three were very experienced fliers. Their destination was San Diego International Airport.
At 8:59 AM, PSA Flight 182 was approaching San Diego airspace. Their journey had been largely uneventful up to this point. However, the airport's approach controller notified the flight that there was a small Cessna 172 aircraft in the area. The Cessna was being flown by two pilots. They were Martin Kazy (a flight instructor) and David Boswell (a student practicing instrument landing system). The pilots of Flight 182 reported that they already spotted the Cessna as they were approaching the airport and believed that the small plane was now behind them. They then extended the jetliner's landing gear and began descending.
At approximately 9:01 AM, the pilots of Flight 182 felt a loud thump. Almost immediately, one of the jetliner's engines burst into flame. The jetliner had overtaken and collided with the Cessna. The impact tore the smaller plane to pieces and scattered its wreckage toward the ground. The jetliner then went into an uncontrollable sharp right bank and hurdled toward the ground.
Part II
On the ground below was a staff photographer from the San Diego Public Relations Office named, Hans Wendt. He was attending an outdoor press event when he heard a loud grinding sound. He looked up and saw PSA Flight 182 falling from the sky with its right wing on fire. Wendt quickly aimed his still camera at the jetliner and snapped a photograph. He then quickly snapped a second image of the burning aircraft before it disappeared from view.
Seconds later, Wendt and all of San Diego felt a massive impact and saw fireball rise into the air. Four seconds past 9:02 AM (just thirteen seconds after colliding with the Cessna), PSA Flight 182 slammed into a neighborhood called, North Park. The aircraft was instantly destroyed on impact. When firefighters and police arrived at the crash site, they found nobody to rescue. All 135 passengers and crew, along with the two in the Cessna were killed. In addition, seven more people were killed on the ground and nine severely injured. With 144 lives lost, this was the deadliest accidental air crash in California history.
Part III
An investigation into the disaster by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), concluded that errors were made by both the crew of PSA Flight 182, the crew of the Cessna, and air traffic controllers. They concluded that the pilots of Flight 182 had failed to keep visual contact with the Cessna and failed to alert the ATC that they had lost sight of the smaller plane. The ATC, had failed to advise Flight 182 of the Cessna's direction of movement. And the pilots of the Cessna, had failed to maintain their assigned heading.
On May 15, 1980 (as a direct result of this crash), the Federal Aviation Administration implemented what is called, Class B airspace. This is the aircraft system's classification scheme to maximize pilot flexibility with acceptation levels of risk appropriation to the type of operation and traffic density within that class of airspace. Class B, is meant to provide for the separation of all aircraft in the area. In addition, all aircraft (regardless of their size) were now required to operate under "positive radar control". This is a rule that allows only radar control from the ground for all aircraft operating within the airport's airspace.
Epilogue
The photographs taken by Hans Wendt proved to be very useful to the investigation of the disaster (as they were the only images of either aircraft). They were instrumental in showing how the jetliner crashed and where the damage occurred. Wendt worked as the Chief Photographer for San Diego from 1970 until his retirement in 1988. He died on August 2, 2013.
Today, Wendt's two images of PSA Flight 182 remain a haunting symbol of the risks of air travel. They tell a tragic story of a series of errors that caused a terrible tragedy. However, they also keep the memory of the victims alive and helps educate people to avoid these accidents in the future. The new safety measures that came as a result of this accident, have since had a major impact on preventing future mid air collisions. As long as people view these photographs, the crash of Flight 182 will never be forgotten.
https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/hans-wendt/
https://simpleflying.com/pacific-southwest-airlines-flight-182-mid-air-collision-story/
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/throwback/psa-flight-182-crash-news-8s-coverage-of-the-san-diego-tragedy-40-years-ago/509-9dc6139e-0e11-48e4-ad20-add4954279ab
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/obituary.aspx?n=hans-e-wendt&pid=166476016
https://web.archive.org/web/20170429192101/http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/August-1998/This-is-It/
