Estado:	Final
Fecha:	09 SEP 1969
Hora:	15:29 EDT
Tipo:	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
Operador:	Allegheny Airlines
Registración:	N988VJ
Numéro de série:	47211/357
Año de Construcción:	1968
Horas Totales de la Célula:	3170
Motores:	2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7
Tripulación:	Fatalidades: 4 / Ocupantes: 4
Pasajeros:	Fatalidades: 78 / Ocupantes: 78
Total:	Fatalidades: 82 / Ocupantes: 82
Víctimas de la colisión:	Fatalidades: 1
Daños en la Aeronave:	Anulado
Consecuencias:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Ubicación:	Shelbyville, IN (Estados Unidos de América)
Fase:	En ruta (ENR)
Naturaleza:	Vuelo Doméstico Programado
Aeropuerto de Salida:	Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, KY (CVG/KCVG), Estados Unidos de América
Aeropuerto de Llegada:	Indianapolis-Weir Cook Municipal Airport, IN (IND/KIND), Estados Unidos de América
Número de Vuelo:	853

Descripción:
Flight 853 was descending from 6000 feet to 2500 feet when, at about 3550 feet, it collided with a Piper PA-28 aircraft (N7374J). The Piper was flown by a student pilot on a solo cross-country VFR flight. Visibility was 15 miles with intervening clouds.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The deficiencies in the collision avoidance capability of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system of the Federal Aviation Administration in a terminal area wherein there was mixed Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic. The deficiencies included the inadequacy of the see-and-avoid concept under the circumstances of this case; the technical limitations of radar in detecting all aircraft; and the absence of Federal Aviation Regulations which would provide a system of adequate separation of mixed VFR and IFR traffic in terminal areas."

Fuentes:
» NTSB-AAR-70-15