Too Close To Be Seen | 1979 Chicago-O'Hare Runway Incident

[@dennycunningham7850]

As an air traffic controller at ORD that was in the tower on the day of this incident, I wanted to compliment you on your telling of this story. Frankly, I was surprised at the accuracy of your account-- I usually find a lot of errors in accounts of incidents at ORD where I have personal knowledge, but not this time, you got it all correct. Nice job!

[@dinahphillips2136]

The controllers seeing this happening in front of them and their feelings about what almost happened 😳

[@dipanwitamandal7289]

Well good luck cleaning up 7 runways lmfao

[@jogman262]

The only thing missing was all the snow on the ground, as the winter of 78-79 set the record for most inches of snowfall.

[@mastersplintersdaddy5640]

A 747 is NOT something you would want to see bearing down on you out of the snow and fog as you are crossing its path. Good job boiling down all the finger pointing on this incident.

[@ThatOneDude219]

That would definitely scare the hell out of me seeing that

[@jamessimms415]

That’s what Pan Am 1736 saw, the KLM 4805 747 appearing from out of the fog @ Tenerife in 1977.

[@ChristIsKing4ever-l9w]

Imagine the a380 too

[@Interdictiondeltawing]

Yeah like the SFO incident where the Air Canada attempt to land but almost land on taxiway where 2 Uniteds and a Philippines airline was lining up on taxiway that would been a 1,000 mass deaths if that plane landed

[@koopatroopa8530]

Ehem

[@thomasgriffin8269]

When seconds count, everyone could've died that day!! Go Flying Tiger pilots for saving that day!!

[@bookeratkins8134]

It's really nice to watch a non- sensationalized documentary that is fact based. I enjoy watching your videos and being able to trust I'm hearing what actually happened. Please keep up the great work!

[@cosmicallyderived]

This is a great observation, I second this opinion.

[@TickleFingers]

Could you imagine being a passenger in the right hand side of that 727? Watching that behemoth barreling down the runway towards you and you're powerless to stop what almost happened! Yikes!

[@billolsen4360]

"Stewardess, can I please get a fresh bottom seat cushion?"

[@philippal8666]

Bill Olsen I’d need more than that. As long as I didn’t have to pay for the dry cleaning bill.

[@Nobilangelo]

When assumptions replace facts, danger replaces safety,

[@karlbrundage7472]

Well said..................

[@TheProPilot]

I'm definitely going to use that lol

[@worldtravel101]

@@TheProPilot same 👍

[@doughboysnerdly2745]

that's some fortune cookie wisdom right there

[@456swagger]

Yeah, and if IF's and But's were candy and nuts Oh what a Christmas it would be.

[@MrCapi55]

Those 747 Pilots were Real "Flying Tigers". Quite a Flight Crew!

[@flyerbob124]

Way I heard it the Delta crew bought the drinks for along time. I worked for Tigers when that happened and was very proud of our guys.

[@Sarah.Riedel]

Way back in 1962 during the Vietnam War there were not one but TWO nearly identical Flying Tiger flights that went missing on the same day from the same airport and were never seen again.

[@mickyt5523]

Sarah Riedel I just looked this one up on Wikipedia, wow how spooky I’d never heard of this incident before, thanks for sharing :)

[@AEMoreira81]

The Flying Tigers (and there are still a few active at FedEx today) were a "we've seen that and done that", as they operated into hot zones.

[@parrisgeorge8620]

@@flyerbob124 what station did you work at? I was actually out there off loading it. We froze our asses off out there with the wind swirling around.

[@trent3872]

Whew im glad nobody lost their life. I was afraid we were about to have another Tenerife there.

[@MrRobertobagg10]

Yes and the fog once again, los rodeos , creepy

[@muffs55mercury61]

A Tenerife nearly happened I think in 2017 (or 2018) at San Francisco International. An Air Canada jet nearly landed on a taxiway where there were four jets waiting to take off. The plane missed the tail of a 747 by mere feet.

[@muffs55mercury61]

@paynekiller500 Who knows maybe even worse. Had that plane hit or scraped one of those others it still could have careened into buildings as well.

[@carolmorris404]

This video took me back to when I first booked an airline flight for a holiday. The days when there were smoking and non smoking sections and pilots often joined airline hostesses to welcome you as you boarded the plane. I am so glad nobody died in this "near miss" collision. We live and learn but 2019 was NOT a year of no casualties and was a very sad year for families and friends on the Lion and Ethiopian crashes RIP. Seasons greatings from South Africa 🇿🇦

[@AD-yi3qz]

And that is why all commercial aircraft need a Really loud horn.

[@galugan]

AD77 I thought the same thing!

[@JNDlego57]

A horn would be useless for a commercial aircraft. The loud engine noises and the headsets pilots wear would easily drown out any horn. Also, planes are not agile like cars. They cannot respond at lightning speeds and accelerate/deccelerate as fast as a car can.

[@AD-yi3qz]

@GoldenAce57, It was a joke. I guess it is not possible to imply sarcasm or wittiness in written form.

[@iR-80]

@Omar Ignacio Silvestrini vote me president 2020 i will make it a law all aircraft must have that horn

[@thecomedypilot5894]

@@JNDlego57 woooooosh

[@Springbok295]

Only a year and a half after Tenerife. Can you imagine being a passenger seated on the starboard side in the Delta flight? Seeing a 747 bearing down on you like a giant.

[@barneyward6448]

1979 really was a rough year for the O’Hare airport.

[@dhardy6654]

Super busy airport with pax, freight and mantance ops...right smack dab in the middle of the country that invented air travel and in a region were geographicly for a temperate weather can alway turn dicey the next second and lastly the entire hub and spoke model of air travel spun around. Cool stuff😜

[@gabrielnj1]

First thing that came to my mind

[@Amtran727]

A little over 3 months after this, American 191 crashed at ORD.

[@tomney4460]

American 191 and now THIS!

[@atomstarfireproductions8695]

And then DC-10 grounded worldwide after discovery of structural problems that caused the engine to fall off on flight 191

[@MoMadNU]

I love your videos. All the work to get the info, photos, finding the aircraft, and the liveries for the sim, flying it in the sim,. CVR, ATC, camera positions, script writing, video editing, music, it is all outstanding!

[@mariajagarcia24]

Thanks to captain he is quick thinker, his quick thinking saves those lives

[@holidayfartcruiserthe2nd749]

You slow think grammar no

[@originalsun5206]

What else are you going to do though? These are pilots, quick response to an emergency is kinda like one of the job requirement isn't it? Turning right seems like the most probable action for any pilot to take if a plane coming in from the left side.

[@anshbaveja4112]

This is one of those rare times where the NTSB doesn't blame the pilots. Excellent work Allec 😀

[@georgemallory797]

Great story. I love these...the ones that didn't become household knowledge due to massive loss of life.

[@philippal8666]

George Mallory near misses are almost more important than the major accidents. It’s a learning opportunity before tragedy

[@TheWatanna]

So nice to have a video where no one dies. Thank you for posting and a very Happy New Year.

[@hellosunshine1090]

Alec, great job again ! You can't get a closer call than that one ! Kudos to quick reacting 747 Cargo pilots for choosing the off runway excursion into the dirt vs collision with probably many deaths - especially considering the Delta 727 was undoubtedly fully fueled !

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

I was a pilot for Tigers back then. They didn't go into the dirt. There were high snow banks on both sides of the runway. As our plane departed the runway, the right body gear was sheared from the aircraft. This raised the left wing of the 747, allowing the wingtip tip pass over the cockpit of the Delta 727, rather than thru it. It was just that close. An engine was then sheared off, and the aircraft bounced along the snow drifts until coming to a stop. It took days to unload the cargo due to floor buckling, which disabled the automatic cargo handling system. They dodged a bullet that day. We were damned proud of our crew's performance.

[@indianapatsfan]

I'm a somewhat regular airline passenger. From my point of view, I'm surprised this type of thing doesn't happen more often. The really busy airports like O'Hare, Atlanta, LAX and DFW look so chaotic to me.

[@Sarah.Riedel]

I don't want to freak you out because really it's hard to get any better than the aviation industry's current safety record, but I can tell you that runway incursions (not necessarily fatal ones though) are really fairly common and becoming even more common.

[@captainkind703]

Don’t worry. It may seem chaotic but all in all the pilots and controllers are so careful to avoid incidents, and I’m not sure if runway incursions are becoming more common.

[@patriciamariemitchel]

Thank you for an amazing video documentary. And best of all, everyone survived! 🤗

[@tomservo5347]

Delta Airlines probably had to buy all those involved new pants and new seats.

[@dx1450]

At the very least all the seats on the starboard side of the plane needed deep cleaning or replacement.

[@Steve197201]

Allec, your videos are the best! They always have me on the edge of my seat.

[@SDK-im8sl]

These are good videos, very informative. If anyone's looking at an O'Hare diagram... In 1979 today's Runway 10L was then designated 9R, and it was 3000 feet shorter at its west end where the incident happened. The Delta 727 was crossing at what is now Taxiway T, a very oblique angle from which a crossing Captain has virtually no view of eastbound aircraft on the runway. Perhaps another factor in this accident was that O'Hare was in a very unusual configuration that snowy day... Then, as now, departures on Runway 4R were very uncommon. Neither the pilots nor the controllers had much experience with working outbound aircraft across Runway 9R when it was being used as a landing runway.

[@mondaymorningquarterback5477]

The Boeing 747 should of been permanently re-registered as “LUCKY”

[@JNDlego57]

Jim Carrell A quick glance at your comment and I thought you were calling the Boeing 747 fleet as a whole a “lucky” aircraft.

[@emeraldqueen1994]

You can say that again, Jim! Cover the whole plane in four leaf clovers too for that matter!! 🍀

[@AmyAnnLand]

Monday Morning Quarterback: I love your username.

[@matthewcoldicutt5951]

I think the same of the Delta plane and occupants. The Tigers proved nimble

[@unrulyphxntom4397]

Lovely You need to get more appreciation for your hard work

[@reenasolanki2004]

For a second I lost my breath...Superb video 👌Thanks to God for all the servivors

[@chayn.3918]

Never heard of this accident. Great work

[@Maplelust]

incident *

[@JoshuasPHXAviation]

Boy what a close call that was! Great Video Allec!

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

This begs the question - did the FAA comply with the NTSB request? As we’ve unfortunately seen, sometimes the FAA gets bogged down and doesn’t follow through. Same with the railroads. The NTSB usually is spot-on with their requests. Another well-done presentation by Allec!

[@rbsiciliano]

i was hired as a ramp manager in Houston by Tigers in early 1980. My initial weight and balance training was at ORD and I heard lots about this incident.....especially how they had to offload the 747 by hand and forklift before they could more the aircraft. thanks for posting!

[@jamessimms415]

I flew back on an an ex-Flying Tiger 747 from Saudi Arabia returning from Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Wished I had the presence of mind to wrote down the tail #...wondering if this was it?

[@watershed44]

@Richard Siciliano I remember the old "Flying Tigers" TV commercials back in the late 70s or early 80s!

[@jeffreyskoritowski4114]

@@watershed44 Flying Tigers dream team.

[@martyfeldmann]

Hi Rick. Those were the days !!! Ex SWA, then FTL here. We met in the past (LCK, I think..you were on TDY)..

[@Maplelust]

I was also hired as a ramp manager in Houston in early 1980.

[@sarahalbers5555]

This is an oldy but goody. That was one hell of a close call. I enjoyed this, no fatalities involved

[@jimbarrofficial]

Amazing how the flight engineer has been replaced by the PFD/MFD combination in most modern glass cockpits. The capabilities of those guys in the pre-modern age was astounding given their workload and need to be resilient and resourceful.

[@nenblom]

That would have been another Tenerife.

[@BsUJeTs]

Excellent video. Great ending with no loss of life. Two things to mention. Excellent maneuver by the Flying Tigers Pilots in avoiding a clear disaster. Also I know that FT had insurance but I believe the airport should have paid for the repair, considering the controller was at fault. Just my opinion.

[@Milesco]

Yeah, but air traffic control is a government operation, and the government is immune from civil liability. :-(

[@SDK-im8sl]

Air Traffic Controllers work for FAA, not for the airport (O'Hare: City of Chicago)

[@JJDigitalartStudio]

Happy New Year Joshua. May we see many more of these videos in 2020!

[@lindadavies6109]

Oh my goodness, that was too close for any kind of comfort!! Great piloting to get out the way. This is exactly why I hate flying on foggy days 😱 Allec, I trust your little doggy enjoyed her first Christmas with you? Greetings from South Africa 👋🇿🇦

[@parrisgeorge8620]

I worked off loading that plane. We were freezing out there. At one point the front nose gear started on fire because they had heaters too close. The wind was swirling around the aircraft. It took about almost 5 days to get the plane out. Tigers had some of the very best pilots I have ever known.

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

As a retired Tigers/FedEx pilot...thank you for you kind comment. I crewed a flight thru ORD just after this happened. Could've been a lot worse.

[@parrisgeorge8620]

@@sixtiesjunky3312 absolutely could have been worse. I loved deadheading and sitting in the jump set in the cockpit. Watching you guys fly was such a treat. You pilots flew like the aircraft was a part of you and not you just driving.

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

@@parrisgeorge8620 It was a privilege to work for the Tigers and all of you. Employees had a real "can do" attitude. Thanks for the comment.

[@lv2surf]

Allec your videos are so good....I bet many Flight schools use them for training and teaching pilots what not to do......Happy 2020!

[@walterfink9782]

Its such a shame, to see these beautiful aircraft, get scrapped. You'd think their would be a way, to turn the body, into a hotel or motel. Or maybe many small movie theaters. Just because it's past its life as an aircraft, land use is still okay. I know a few planes, have been turned into homes. What a home this plane would make. I can just here it now, " Honey, please go down to the cargo hold where the freezer is, and bring up the turkey", and then we hear the reply, "Yes, dear".

[@q.taylor2921]

Walter Fink It had a fairly long existence after this experience. Frankly, I’m astonished that it DID, have such a long life following this scare. Especially if El Al acquired it after being repaired!?! The safest airline in the world acquired the aircraft!?!That should say something towards the quality of the work done on this beast prior to re-entering it into service. Then, from El Al...off to HKA...then a few other Cargo’s. And what about the pilots of the Tiger aircraft itself?? Avoiding a potentially devastating collision capable of killing all on board BOTH planes! The planes can be repaired. Human life is irreplaceable.....

[@hshs5756]

It's on my bucket list to pick up an old fighter jet from the Davis-Monthan boneyard to put in my backyard, where it would become a landmark for all of the pilots going over me in their downwind approach leg. The problem with this idea is that even "small" jets (relative to an airliner) are big and heavy when it comes to truck transport and cranes to reassemble. An old Evergreen 747 was just placed ashore near Washington DC, but it took a huge barge to bring it up the Potomac from the last place it landed.

[@sagittariusa1304]

@@q.taylor2921 i agree but actually the safest arline of 2019 is QANTAS not EL AL but yeah, you are right

[@doughboysnerdly2745]

yeah turn it into a bowling alley NOT

[@richards.johnson8755]

Sagittarius A* nnn

[@aflacduckquack]

Nice vid, Allec :) So glad nothing happened to the people aboard those planes. Later that year, though... American 191...

[@awesomerpower]

What kind of plane is off the port nose at 0:27?

[@philmenzies2477]

If a pilot makes an error of judgement like this he loses his position, his job, his wings, gets sued. A traffic handler makes the same mistake he gets "remedial training" and the FAA issues a directive

[@456swagger]

What should the Pilot "get" a cold beer and a pack of Lucky Strikes?

[@Milesco]

@@456swagger : _whoosh...._

[@trent3872]

And I cannot believe I spelled Tenerife correct on the first try.

[@Maplelust]

I feel you. I did the exact same thing once not realizing it was simple word.

[@joseluisrodriguez7673]

Coyote you did it fine ! felicitaciones.

[@HulkSMjr]

*just 3 months later, another plane accident happened in Chicago-O'Hare. but this time, it was the deadliest in us history*

[@janicesullivan8942]

Chicago born and raised, and yet had no recollection of this incident.

[@mikebell2112]

The animations of the 747 coming out of the fog were intimidating.

[@abandonedchannel281]

That 727 disintegrated had the 747 impacted it at that speed

[@timmy841212]

And in just three months, O'Haire would suffer the biggest aviation accident tragedy to occur in this country. 😔

[@RubenThomas]

Hi. Merry belated Christmas.

[@patriciamariemitchel]

You too, Ruben, and get to the Choppaa! 🤗

[@tomney4460]

I watch your vids

[@planeflight1202]

What about the 727 what happened to it.

[@dzenan9331]

N467DA was returned to service with Delta and the airline was 727's only owner. It was later parked at VCV on November 1998 and then broken up, canx September 9th, 2003.

[@planeflight1202]

@@dzenan9331 thanks.

[@Cultural_Supremacist]

I heard that the seats on the flight deck had to be replaced prior to it's going back into service though. No matter how much they scrubbed... ;-)

[@MorganBrown]

The late 1970s were tough years for O’Hare

[@WaifuPunisher]

I liked the music alot , where can i find it?

[@JM-lw3nx]

I have learned a lot from these vids - had no idea planes were ever allowed to cross active runways.

[@5roundsrapid263]

They have to at most airports. It’s no problem if they follow minimum spacing, unlike this video.

[@tomfoolery4497]

Amazing job of research. Thank you.

[@m1zuku822]

Can you make video about flying tiger lines that crash at malaysia.

[@ajones35]

All I can think of is how many leisure suits, platform shoes and afro picks are on that plane lol

[@Milesco]

And thanks to the quick reaction of the Flying Tigers crew, the passengers on the Delta jet ended up stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

[@duranfriendlystudiosassoci1351]

Did the Delta leave the airport after this happened or did it go back to the gate?

[@howarddoll359]

I was there on another flight enroute to Wichita, KS to visit a relative. I cannot remember what airline we were on, I was 14 at the time. What I do remember was seeing the Flying Tigers 747 out off the runway. Very snowy that day. Thanks jogging what memory I have left of this incident.

[@optiart]

I did many weight and balance charts on FTL aircraft #804 during the 1980s out of CLT "The Tiger Spirit"

[@lilibethdoherty295]

AT THAT ANGLE THE 727 WOULD NOT KNOW ANYTHING UNTIL IMPACT.

[@mikespencer9913]

Except for the passengers in seat F... :O

[@Vektorer]

The procedure is called “look & go”. Still in use at some places. A week after that B747 was returned to the line it stopped by where I was working at 3AM. It couldn’t land at RJAA until RJAA reopened for business later in the morning. RJAA closes nightly for noise abatement.

[@daveywaite25]

Thank You for calling this incident a "Near Collision". So often it's described as a "Near Miss", which, actually, is a collision.

[@GH-oi2jf]

daveywaite25 - No, a “near miss” is a miss which is close to a collision.

[@brianw612]

Capt. Petrick is the hero of this story. His decisive decision to veer into the grass saved the day for all involved. It must have been a very close call in far from ideal conditions. The outcome could have been disastrous.

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

I'm reposting this from my earlier reply...I was a pilot for Tigers back then. They didn't go into the dirt (or grass in this case). There were high snow banks on both sides of the runway. As our plane departed the runway, the right body gear was sheared from the aircraft. This raised the left wing of the 747, allowing the wingtip tip pass over the cockpit of the Delta 727, rather than thru it. It was just that close. An engine was then sheared off, and the aircraft bounced along the snow drifts until coming to a stop. It took days to unload the cargo due to floor buckling, which disabled the automatic cargo handling system. They dodged a bullet that day. We were damned proud of our crew's performance.

[@californiadreaming9216]

Fascinating story. Great job Alec Ibay. Actually, airport near-misses used to be far more common. Very likely this one and others like it helped airports improve runway safety.

[@adrianpossumato3325]

Looks like those JT8D-15 engines on the 727 are hush kitted. Were hush kits even around in 1979?

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

Yes...look into FAR 36.

[@owensutton8413]

Good vid! Arrow Air crash is the worst air disaster in Canada. Maybe one to consider soon??

[@mjp9149]

Owen Sutton TFC just did it today

[@edvaira6891]

One of the most enraging crashes I’ve ever heard about! Truly a stupid horrible case of negligence

[@messiafridi3327]

I saw it today on theflightchannel you can watch it

[@_Andrew2002]

I don't see why he should do a video on an accident someone else did. Allec is trying to do accidents no one has heard of, teaching people. Not doing re-enactments of well known crashes when you can watch lower quality channels or ACI episodes of it.

[@TijmensAviation]

Andrew Allec should do it because TFC is 50% money farm 50% passion

[@bentleybrabec]

4:17 worst plane to collide with

[@nzk86384]

And Merry Late Christmas to you Allec!

[@bentleybrabec]

4:28 look great together

[@hoyden1960]

Nicely done......both the landing and video.

[@jjm6715]

did the tristar do anything to avoid the collision tho?

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

I hired on withTigers in July '78. I was crewing a company DC 8-63 thru ORD, on the way to JFK. This accident had just occured the previous day. There were snow banks on both sides of the runways from clearing operations. It was these snow banks that might have kept this from being much worse. When 804 departed the runway to the right, it plowed onto these snow banks, first tearing off the right wing gear, then the left wing gear.. This initially caused the aircraft's left wing to rise, allowing it to just clear the 727's cockpt and forward first class section. From there, the 47 slamed into one bank after another, causing the number two engine to be torn from the wing, while number three was bent down by failure of one of the mounts, but remained attached. The force of these impacts buckled the main deck and lower deck cargo floors, rendering the automated in floor handling system unuseable; took em a while to get the thing unloaded (had about 300,000 pounds on board). ...whew...

[@Majeure]

I want to know the name of the song you play after the incident. It's great and I am not familiar with this genra of music.

[@timothyhorner3152]

Flying Tiger airline carried me to Vietnam the first time

[@parrisgeorge8620]

I heard that a lot from my friends and others that I told that I worked for Flying Tigers. However, it was United and Braniff that brought vet back. Thank you for your service.

[@TheProPilot]

These videos calm me down before I go to sleep after a long day of flying. They get me mentally in the zone for the next day. I have... So many nightmares though 😂 jk

[@fightingsheep1640]

A happy ending...Thank Goodness. 🙂

[@PrabertDeNiro]

this was 3 months and 10 days before the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 🤔

[@Jukelikesgames]

PRB Gaming illuminate confirmed

[@kurtkensson2059]

My family and I were on an AA DC10 approaching O'Hare when that happened. We were put into a holding pattern for quite a while. My brother and I noticed smoke on the ground, near the airport, but we didn't know what it was until after we landed. We drove past the crash site on our way out. That plane would have been our flight back to San Diego a week later. The takeoff on that return flight (another DC10) had a lot of passengers looking very nervous.

[@brianglade848]

@@kurtkensson2059 I lived not far from there that day, I remember the fireball.....was devastating

[@timmi2198]

Wasnt the DC 10 grounded following the crash?

[@kurtkensson2059]

Yes, I think it was a couple of weeks after the crash that they were grounded.

[@bambertthe803]

Flying Tiger 74’s Damage: Substantial Flying Tiger 74’s Airframe: Repaired

[@terrycarlino7794]

My father was an aircraft mechanic for Tigers, I remember this. He took me to work with him to see it.

[@Nivola1953]

This accident occurred in 1979, what to conclude about the FAA ability to regulate air traffic, when you consider that in these past 2 years since COVID recovery, runway incursion is a major recurring problem in US airports?

[@mrpeel3239]

Why the Delta crew did not have a visual as to the incoming aircraft?

[@Milesco]

Fog

[@ATRFLYER]

Minor correction. The FTL aircraft, N804FT, was a B747-100, not 200F. Ex pax aircraft converted to a freighter. Good job with the video.

[@abandonedchannel281]

Never heard of this accident

[@pascalcoole2725]

Great action Capt.747 ! Damm the aircraft is wrecked but you saved many lives !

[@petermendoza1170]

Never knew Flying Tigers had a 747. Of course I remember it well with the Super DC 8 which transported me R.T. to Nam.

[@julosx]

As you can see on one of these pictures, they had more than one. During the sale of Flying Tigers assets to FedEx, in August 7, 1989, the company was operating 8 Boeing 747-100, 13 747-200, 19 727-100 and a remaining 6 Douglas DC-8-73.

[@joseluisrodriguez7673]

747´s were the workhorses for them as for many other cargo airlines .

[@Chatta-Ortega]

I was a Flying Tiger employee when they were acquired by FedEx. They had the largest 747 fleet in the world at one time. Employees could jumpseat on the second deck. Very comfortable.

[@wingnutoo]

We had 23 747s at the time - I think it was 3 pax aircraft for MAC charters. It was a great company. (Retired FTL/FDX B727, DC-10, B777)

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

At the time, we had 24 +/- stretch 8s (-61 and -63s) and 24 747s +/- (a mix of -100 & 200s). I crewed both. Numbers would vary depending on lease/lift demand. We did a lot of swapping with TIA (Trans International Airlines).

[@chrisplunkett2814]

I thought it was always the case that for this very reason,ANY aircraft that uses the runway (crosses it,takes off from it or lands on it) has to talk to just the tower controller?

[@peteconrad2077]

It is now!!

[@mayalee2396]

OMG, that’s wayyy too close for comfort, I mean if that Delta plane didn’t stop or move a bit more faster ahead and that Flying Tiger plane didn’t notice them amidst all that fog, well, I cannot imagine the carnage on that runway😱

[@sixtiesjunky3312]

You don't know the half of it...I was a pilot for Tigers back then. There were high snow banks on both sides of the runway. As our plane departed the runway, the right body gear was sheared from the aircraft. This raised the left wing of the 747, allowing the wingtip tip pass over the cockpit of the Delta 727, rather than thru it. It was just that close. An engine was then sheared off, and the aircraft bounced along the snow drifts until coming to a stop. It took days to unload the cargo due to floor buckling, which disabled the automatic cargo handling system. They dodged a bullet that day. We were damned proud of our crew's performance.

[@yes7079]

Well at least the skies are much safer now. The development of aircraft’s,airports etc. Made it hard for the human itself to manage it.

[@marcodevries4481]

Flying seems 100x safer today than in the 70s-80s

[@wingnutoo]

Watching it, all I can think of is the sim. One thing I don't miss about being retired.

[@midgie4410]

Are cockpits really that loud??

[@wcolby]

Thanks for the information on the outcome on the 747 but what ever happened to the little 727?

[@AllecJoshuaIbay]

I could not find anything about the 727

[@wcolby]

@@AllecJoshuaIbay That's perfectly fine, I was just nit picking....

[@AllecJoshuaIbay]

@@wcolby No worries. I'm curious as to what became of the 727 myself.

[@dzenan9331]

@@wcolby N467DA, the 727 was returned back to the service with Delta. It was the only operator of that 727. It was parked and broken up at VCV in 1998. Canx on September 5, 2003.

[@wcolby]

@@dzenan9331 Well Done! Thank you.

[@muffs55mercury61]

A little more than three months before the AA Flight 191 crash.

[@karlwelin7932]

Can you imagine stress of being an air traffic controller?

[@sylviaelse5086]

Give an aircraft clearance to land (in poor visibility, yet) while another aircraft has been cleared to cross the runway, in the hope that it will vacate the runway in time. Here's a thought - don't give landing clearance until the runway is clear, with no other aircraft cleared to enter it.

[@adamariffbinaliasmoe142]

Game name i would like to know

[@craftpaint1644]

The rest of the details are fine in hindsight, what was important was the Flying Tiger's saved everyone's collective asses

[@michaellusk2856]

Yadee, yadee, yadee...I hope my family and I always get a crew like the crew in the Flying Tigers 747. Nothing beats a crew of professionals.

[@tomperkins5657]

My question is, "Who paid for the repairs to the 747?"

[@parrisgeorge8620]

the insurance company

[@th3kwaiiapotato858]

I was there yesterday continued my flight to EWR on the 757-200