NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW89IA064
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
FAILURE OF THE TRACON FINAL APPROACH CONTROLLER TO ASSURE RADAR SEPARATION BETWEEN THE AIRCRAFT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: INADEQUATE SUPERVISION BY THE ATC SUPERVISOR, EXCESSIVE WORKLOAD FOR THE CONTROLLER, UNCLEAR INSTRUCTIONS BY THE CONTROLLER, AND A MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE ATC CLEARANCE BY THE FLIGHT CREW OF CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 122.
Factual narrative
TWA FLT 806 (DC-9) WAS NW OF ARPT (FOR ILS RWY 9 APCH) AS CONTINENTAL FLT 122 (DC-9) WAS SW OF ARPT FOR SAME APCH. BOTH WERE IN IMC, BEING VCTRD BY FINAL TRACON CTLR (WORKING 2 SECTORS & CTLG 23 ACFT). AS FLT 122 WAS APCHG LOCALIZER (LOC) & HDG 060 DEG AT 3000' MSL, FLT 806 WAS ABT 8 MI NW OF FLT 122 & WAS CLRD TO INTERCEPT LOC. CTLR TMTD TO FLT 122 'FOUR FM THE MARKER, MAINT 2000 UNTIL ESTABLISHED ON THE LOC, CLRD ILS RWY 9 APCH, AND ARE YOU GOING THRU THE LOC TOO?' FLT 122 REPLIED 'YES SIR, YOU NEVER TOLD US TO INTERCEPT.' CTLR THEN TOLD FLT 122 'MAINT 3500 & TURN LEFT 360,' MEANING TO TURN TO A HDG OF 360 DEG. FLT 122 THOUGHT CTLR WANTED A 360 DEG CIRCLING TURN & BGN A RGT TURN. WHILE CIRCLING, FLT 122 ASKED FOR A HDG TO ROLL OUT ON. CTLR SAID TO FLY HDG 230. CTLR THEN REALIZED THE 2 ACFT WERE CONVERGING. HE TOLD FLT 122 TO DCND TO 2000' & TMTD FOR 'CONTINENTAL 806' TO MAINT 3500'. SINCE CTLR USED WRONG COMPANY DESIGNATOR, TWA FLT 806 DID NOT RESPOND. RADAR SHOWED THE 2 ACFT PASSED AT ABT 3100' WITH .079 MI SEPN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_FTW89IA064.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.