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LAX85IA175

1985-03-15 · SAN JOSE, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SJC

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

A PIPER SEMINULE WAS VECTORED TO THE FINAL APCH COURSE & CLEARED FOR AN ILS APCH AT 3000FT MSL. A DC-9, IN TRAIL AT 5000 FT MSL, WAS OVERTAKING THE SEMINULE. THE CONTROLLER ELECTED TO CHANGE THEIR SEQUENCE & CLEARED THE SEMINULE TO CLIMB TO 4000FT MSL DUE TO RISING TERRAIN & MAKE A RIGHT 360. THE DC-9 WAS SUBSEQUENTLY ISSUED AN APPROACH CLEARANCE & DESCENT FROM 5000FT, WHICH COMPROMISED SEPA4RATION REQUIREMENTS. THE CONFLICT ALERT WAS MISSED, IN PART BECAUSE IT WAS IDENTICAL WITH THE TERRAIN PROXIMITY ALERT, WHICH SOUNDED FREQUENTLY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_LAX85IA175.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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