Allegheny Airlines Flight 853
Diagram of the collision angle | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 9, 1969 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | |
| Total fatalities | 83 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
| N988VJ, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 involved in the collision, seen in 1968 | |
| Type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 |
| Operator | Allegheny Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | AL853 |
| ICAO flight No. | ALO853 |
| Call sign | ALLEGHENY 853 |
| Registration | N988VJ |
| Flight origin | Boston Logan Airport |
| 1st stopover | Friendship International Airport |
| 2nd stopover | Greater Cincinnati Airport |
| 3rd stopover | Indianapolis International Airport |
| Destination | St. Louis International Airport |
| Occupants | 82 |
| Passengers | 78 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 82 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
| A Piper PA-28-140, similar to the one involved in the collision | |
| Type | Piper PA-28-140 |
| Registration | N7374J |
| Flight origin | Brookside Airpark, Brookside |
| Destination | Columbus Municipal Airport Columbus |
| Occupants | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On September 9, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating a regularly scheduled flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to St. Louis, Missouri, with stops in Baltimore, Maryland; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Indiana, collided mid-air with a Piper PA-28 light aircraft near Fairland, Indiana. The left wing of the PA-28 sheared off the DC-9's rear tail assembly, causing both to crash, killing all 83 occupants on board both aircraft. More than 50 years later, the incident remains Indiana's deadliest commercial airline disaster.