Galaxy Airlines Flight 203
N5532, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen with a previous livery | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 21, 1985 |
| Summary | Pilot error and ground crew error |
| Site | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-188A Electra |
| Operator | Galaxy Airlines |
| Call sign | GALAXY 203 |
| Registration | N5532 |
| Flight origin | Reno–Cannon International Airport, Reno, Nevada |
| Destination | Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Occupants | 71 |
| Passengers | 65 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 70 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 was a non-scheduled charter flight of a Lockheed L-188A Electra from Reno to Minneapolis which crashed shortly after taking off from Reno-Tahoe International Airport on 21 January 1985. All but 1 of the 71 on board died. It was the first major air disaster in the U.S in 1985 and the deadliest since the crash of Pan Am Flight 759 in 1982.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the crash was mainly caused by pilot error. While taking off from Reno, the aircraft suffered significant vibrations, which happened due to error by the ground crew. The pilots mistakenly thought that the vibrations were caused by a faulty engine and thus tried to recover by reducing the power of all of the aircraft's four engines. This significantly lowered the lift forces, causing the aircraft to stall and crash onto the ground.