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.
Aircraft The aircraft involved in the crash was a 25-year-old Lockheed L-188A Electra with a manufacturing serial number of 1121. The aircraft was initially delivered to American Airlines in 1960 as N6130A. The aircraft was eventually sold to American Sales Company, which leased the aircraft to Galaxy Airlines in 1983. At the time, the aircraft had been re-registered as N5532.
Reports stated that N5532, the Lockheed L-188A Electra operating Flight 203, had been involved in a serious turbulence incident in 1984. At the time, the aircraft was carrying Democratic Party presidential candidate Jesse Jackson for a flight to Dallas. The severe turbulence prompted FAA officials to investigate the structural integrity of the aircraft. The report stated that no structural damage was found.
Passengers and crew The aircraft was carrying 65 passengers and 6 crew members. The passengers were mostly residents of Minnesota, while several others were from nearby Wisconsin and Iowa. They had chartered Galaxy Airlines's Lockheed Electra for their return trip to Minneapolis after spending days on Reno's casino resorts and watching Super Bowl XIX, which was held on the same week as their flight arrival to Nevada.
The crew members, who were based in Florida, consisted of three flight crew members and three cabin crew members. The flight crew were: Captain Allan Heasley (49), who was the commander of the flight and the pilot flying. Heasley had been hired by the company as a part-time pilot from 1981 to 1983 before he became a full-time pilot in 1984. Heasley was a veteran pilot and had flown for over 5,000 hours with the P-3 Orion, the military version of the Lockheed L-188 Electra, which he had flown during his service in Vietnam. He was considered a highly experienced pilot, with over 14,000 flying hours. The last flight proficiency check described him as a "very competent" pilot. First Officer Kevin Fieldsa (27), was the co-pilot and the pilot non-flying of the flight. He had been hired in 1984 and had accrued a total flight experience of over 5,000 hours, of which 172 were on the type. He was initially noted as being weak in terms of handling flight instruments. He completed his proficiency check for second-in-command in September 1984. Flight Engineer Marc Freels (23), who was hired by Galaxy Airlines in 1983. He had accumulated a total flying hours of 262 hours, all of which were on the Electra. His performance was described as "satisfactory".
Accident Flight The aircraft had been chartered by Caesars Tahoe for a three-day gambling and Super Bowl party trip at Caesar's Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The group had arrived in Reno on January 18 and some decided to continue their journey to Stanford, California to watch the match between San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, while the remainder stayed at Lake Tahoe. They eventually regrouped on January 20 for a return flight to Minneapolis.
Prior to the aircraft's arrival in Reno, an Eastern Airlines pilot, who had been following the Electra from behind during its taxi run in Oakland, commented that the crew of the Electra should take a closer look on the aircraft's left engine, which had been emitting smoke and leaking some fluids. The crew acknowledged the message and took the aircraft for a brief check. The inspection found nothing unusual and the ground crew decided to put the aircraft back into service.
Following a three-hour delay in Oakland, the aircraft arrived late in Reno. As the aircraft came to a complete stop, the awaiting passengers were brought onto the apron by vans. While loading the passengers and cargo, the flight engineer came out of the aircraft and took part in the loading, instructing the ground handler to load approximately 67 pieces of luggage to the aft compartment, as the forward cargo had been filled with the crew's belongings and galley stores.
Meanwhile, in the cockpit, the pilots were visibly anxious and tried to rush through the required flight checklists, apparently due to their late arrival in Reno. Several of the checklists were not called out in the correct order, and the pre-departure briefing was abandoned altogether. Captain Heasley, known for being very punctual, was believed to have been angry at the time, since the flight was already three-hours late from its assigned time.
After receiving clearance from the ground crew, the pilots started the engines and began the taxi. The aircraft was brought to its take-off configuration and the take-off checklist was read out loud. At 01:01 a.m local time, Flight 203 received their clearance for take-off to Minneapolis.
Start of anomaly The Electra accelerated on the runway and was reaching V-1. While First Officer Fieldsa was calling out V-1, a loud thunk simultaneously rattled the entire aircraft. The crew continued the take-off and the aircraft eventually reached V-2 when another loud thunk was heard. As the aircraft wheels lifted off the runway, another thunk was heard. Being confused on what caused the sound, Captain Heasley asked Flight Engineer Freels, who simply stated that he did not know either.
01:03:19 First Officer Fieldsa Vee-one. 01:03:21 Commentary Sound of loud thunk 01:03:23 First Officer Fieldsa Vee-two. 01:03:23 Commentary Sound of loud thunk 01:03:26 First Officer Fieldsa Gear up. 01:03:27 Captain Heasley Gear up. 01:03:29 Captain Heasley What is it, Mark? 01:03:29 Commentary Sound of loud thunk 01:03:30 Flight Engineer Freels I don't know, Al. I don't know.01:03:30ATCOps four at your discretion cross
Moments after its wheel had lifted off the runway, the aircraft began to vibrate heavily, startling the flight crew. Uneasy with the situation, Captain Heasley asked First Officer Fieldsa to inform the ATC about Flight 203's intention to return to Reno due to heavy vibrations. The request was approved and the crew was expected to make a left downwind turn towards Reno. After the banter, the ATC shifted their attention to another flight.
01:03:54 First Officer Fieldsa Ah, Sir. We'd like to make a left downwind. 01:03:55 Captain Heasley Tell 'em we have heavy vibrations. 01:03:58 First Officer Fieldsa We've gotta heavy vibrations in the aircraft. 01:03:58 Flight Engineer Freels Jesus!01:03:58Unknown(Okay) (I've got it) (Pull the power) 01:04:00 ATC Galaxy two oh three roger ah maintain VFR and a left downwind for one six right and do you need the equipment? 01:04:05 Commentary Sound similar to stall buffet and loose cockpit equipment begins to rattle 01:04:07 Captain Heasley Yeah 01:04:08 First Officer Fieldsa That's affirmative Inside the cabin, passengers noticed the thumping sounds from the right side of the aircraft. The ATC noticed that the aircraft had only reached 250 ft before the flight crew decided to return to the airport. The Electra began to turn towards the right and the shaking continued.
The aircraft had stopped climbing and began to descend.
Crash Seconds after feeling the vibrations, the pilots pulled back the engine power, causing the airspeed to decrease. The shaking, however, continued. They attempted to return to Reno but they kept losing airspeed and altitude. The aircraft began to descend in a nose-high attitude. As the descent rate increased, the pilots elected to add power to the engines again. With the aircraft nearing the ground, the ground proximity warning system activated.
01:04:11 Unknown Okay, put more power back!01:04:14First Officer FieldsaSixty eight and we got full fuel. 01:04:14 Commentary Whoop whoop pull up Flight Engineer Freels Pull up Commentary Whoop whoop pull up Flight Engineer Freels Pull up! 01:04:17 ATC Sixty eight people and twelve hundred pounds of fuel? 01:04:18 First Officer Fieldsa A hundred knots! 01:04:19 Flight Engineer Freels God, god!
As the aircraft continued to lose altitude, a crew member turned on the PA system, announcing "We are going to crash". Panic set in and passengers began to scream as the ground drew nearer. Meanwhile, the pilots tried to arrest the descend by increasing the engine's thrust, but the aircraft kept descending.
01:04:21 First Officer Fieldsa A hundred knots! 01:04:24 Captain Heasley Max power 01:04:25 Flight Engineer Freels Max power! 01:04:30 Commentary Sound of impact 01:04:31 End of recording
At 01:04 local time, with a speed of 105 knots and nose-high condition, the aircraft crashed onto Reno Field just short of the city's South Virginia Street, approximately from the end of the runway. The front part was obliterated by the impact, the central portion broke up and ruptured the main fuel tanks, igniting the 2,300 gallons of fuels and causing the airframe to burst into flames. The wreckage slid and struck a furniture store and several parked RVs, worsening the fire and causing multiple explosions.
Response Emergency services were immediately deployed to the crash site. The Washoe County fire department was notified that a large aircraft had crashed on the outskirts of Reno. The information was relayed to other fire departments and all off-duty officers were called to assist the rescue efforts. A few minutes after the crash, personnel from Reno Fire Department arrived at the site.
Due to the 2,300 gallons (ca. 9 m³) of fuel on board, fires engulfed the crash site and the area nearby. The furniture store was obliterated, while continuous explosions could be heard from exploding gas tanks of the destroyed RVs. While dousing the flames and combing the area, rescuers found three survivors. A fireman found a teenage passenger who had been thrown clear out of the burning aircraft. During the crash, the airframe broke up in front of his seat row. He had managed to put on a brace position, ripped off his seatbelt, and tried to run away from the wreckage before losing consciousness. His father, who was seated next to him, was found to have survived as well with burn injuries. Another survivor could be seen running completely in flames. Authorities stated that the third survivor had around 80-90% burns on his body. The fires were contained 30 minutes after the crash, and no survivors could be found afterwards.
The survivors were identified as George Lamson Sr., 41; his son George Lamson Jr., 17; and Robert Miggins, 45. George Lamson Sr. was initially expected to recover and was planned to be discharged in good condition, but on 29 January he was pronounced dead due to massive head injuries. The third survivor, Robert Miggins, died due to the severity of his burns on 4 February, leaving George Lamson, Jr. as the only survivor of the crash.
Reports eventually stated that there were likely more people who had survived the crash but died due to smoke inhalation and fire. A significant portion of the back of the aircraft had stayed intact from the impact and at least 20 people from that part had initially survived, but the crash had caused deformations on the doors and the fires at the front portion had caused the survivors to be trapped.