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| Date: | Thursday 18 January 1990 |
| Time: | 06:47 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 |
| Owner/operator: | Eastern Airlines |
| Registration: | N405EA |
| MSN: | 47688/799 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Engine model: | P&W JT8D-17 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 44 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Philadelphia, PA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Philadelphia, PA (PHL) |
| Atlanta, GA (ATL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was seen taking off on a taxiway by personnel in the control tower. The take-off occurred just before twilight in the morning. The runway had white centreline markings, white edge lighting, and white markings. The taxiway had yellow markings and green centreline lighting. The pilot said he remembered white centreline lighting. The co-pilot said he saw the centreline lights and believed they were white.
Probable Cause: "The flight crew of EAL121 taking off on a taxiway. Contributing was failure of the flight crew of EAL121 to maintain an adequate visual lookout during taxi and takeoff."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
ICAO Adrep 3/94
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 25 June 1983 | N405EA | Eastern Airlines | 0 | Tampa, FL | |
min |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-May-2021 12:45 | harro | Added |
| 19-May-2021 13:46 | harro | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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