Date:	Sunday 27 December 1987
Time:	23:39
Type:	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
Owner/operator:	Eastern Air Lines
Registration:	N8948E
MSN:	47184/274
Year of manufacture:	1968
Total airframe hrs:	55645 hours
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 107
Aircraft damage:	Substantial, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	Pensacola Regional Airport, FL (PNS) -   United States of America
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Atlanta-William B. Hartsfield International Airport, GA (ATL/KATL)
Destination airport:	Pensacola Regional Airport, FL (PNS/KPNS)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
As Flight EA573 approached Pensacola, the crew were told to expect a runway 16 ILS approach. At 23:30 the controller advised that the glide slope monitor in the tower had just gone into alarm (unreliable indications), and repeated this message several times during the approach. At 2000 feet from the runway (at 400 feet agl) the first officer told the captain he was high on the glide slope. The captain then reduced power and pushed the nose over. The captain started the flare, but the nosegear touched the runway before reaching a level attitude. The DC-9 bounced back into the air and touched down hard again. This caused the cabin to break open just aft of the wings (between Stations 813 and 756), causing the aircraft to stop with the tail resting on the runway.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain's failure to maintain a proper descent rate on final approach or to execute a missed approach, which caused the airplane to contact the runway with a sink rate exceeding the airplane's design limitations. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the failure of the captain and first officer to make required altitude callouts and to properly monitor the flight instruments during the approach."

Aviation Week & Space Technology 4.1.88(68/69)
NTSB/AAR-89/02/SUM

photo (c) NTSB; Pensacola Regional Airport, FL (PNS/KPNS); 27 December 1987; (publicdomain)

photo (c) Amy; Pensacola Regional Airport, FL (PNS/KPNS); December 1987

photo (c) Gregory W. Johnson; Pensacola Regional Airport, FL (PNS); December 1987

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