Midwest Express Airlines Flight 007
| File:125aq - Midwest Express DC-9-32; N207ME@LGA;18.03.2001 (8075141374).jpg N207ME the aircraft involved in March 2001, less than 6 months before the incident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 11, 2001 |
| Summary | Near miss with United Airlines Flight 175 |
| Site | Near General Mitchell International Airport, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States 42°55′41.1″N 87°54′03.9″W / 42.928083°N 87.901083°WCoordinates: 42°55′41.1″N 87°54′03.9″W / 42.928083°N 87.901083°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Operator | Midwest Express Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | YX007 |
| ICAO flight No. | MEP007 |
| Call sign | MIDEX 007 |
| Registration | N207ME[1] |
| Flight origin | General Mitchell International Airport, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States |
| Destination | LaGuardia Airport, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States |
| Occupants | 35 |
| Passengers | 30 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 35 |
Midwest Express Airlines Flight 007 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight that was involved in a near mid-air collision, leading to quick, sharp dives and four minor injuries. The flight came anywhere from 300 to 30 feet from United Airlines Flight 175.
Had the pair of aircraft collided it could have been the fourth worst Mid-air collision in American history (only behind the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, 1960 New York mid-air collision and PSA Flight 182).
Aircraft
On September 11, 2001, Midwest Express (Midex) 007 was operated by a 22-year-old McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, with the registration of N207ME. The DC-9 was manufactured in 1979 for Garuda Indonesia, and bought by Midwest in 1995.
Crew
The flight would be operated by Captain Gerald Earwood and first officer Eric Fjelstad (who had joined Midwest less than a year prior). Earwood was well known at Midwest for his tendency to "joke" with his fellow crew members; also on board would be three cabin crew/flight attendants.
Flight
Around 6 a.m. the flight departed Milwaukee with a set arrival time of around 9 a.m. local time. The flight would be uneventful for the first hour and a half.
Radio Issues
While the aircraft was on NYC radar, several calls to ATC were missed. This led to the crew believing they might have had a broken radio. This was at the same time as American Airlines Flight 11 crashed.[2]
Near Miss
As the aircraft was nearing the Hudson River, United Airlines 175 was also approaching at the same altitude. As ATC was focused on moving both a Delta and a TWA flight, Midwest 007 was left on the side. The controller was alerted to the conflict and began to direct 007 to turn to its left, to which they began a 30-degree turn. The controller, seeing that United 175 was less than a mile from collision, told them to "Roll Right." At this time the first officer could see the United flight and sent the aircraft into a right-hand dive.[3] The aircraft quickly lost altitude and they had to pull up after around 1000 feet. United 175, now on its final descent, was still on a collision course with the plane. Once again the crew were forced to dive. This time four people (two passengers and two cabin crew) were injured. The aircraft dropped around 2000 feet in a second right-handed dive, allowing flight 175 to pass around 300 to 30 feet above.[4]
Aftermath
The aircraft landed safely with no further issues. N207ME would receive some temporary repairs in NYC before flying a group of Midwest Express crew members back to Milwaukee on the 13th, where it would receive more heavy repairs. It is currently stored in Mexico along with the 747SP that operated China Airlines Flight 006. Both pilots would continue to fly for Midwest Express until 2010, when the airline ceased operations.
In popular culture
The book "Touching History" by Lynn Spencer includes the flight along with a number of others.
This article "Midwest Express Airlines Flight 007" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Midwest Express Airlines Flight 007. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/545358
- ↑ https://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1450141/changing_terrors_course_book_details_how_midwest_plane_avoided_sept/
- ↑ https://news.utdallas.edu/campus-community/navigating-chaos-aviation-pros-recall-events-of-91/
- ↑ https://news.utdallas.edu/campus-community/navigating-chaos-aviation-pros-recall-events-of-91/
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