American Airlines Flight 587 Case Study

American Airlines Flight 587 Case Study

Alex Omar Casado Delgado

Case: American Airlines Flight 587, AirBus 300–605R, registration N14053, November 12, 2001, NTSB Identification: AAR–04/04

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

SFTY 320: Human Factors in Aviation



On this case it will be discussed the aircraft accident of American Airlines Flight 587. The aircraft involved was an Airbus 300–605R with a registration N14053 that occurred on November 12, 2001 in Belle Harbor, New York claimed the lives of 265 people, which consisted of all the members on board, the flight crew and 5 members in the ground. The aircraft was scheduled to depart from John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York to Las Americas International Airport, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic operating under the provisions of the CRF 14 Part 121 with an instrument flight rules flight plan.

The captain of the aircraft was 42 years old at the moment of the accident. American Airlines hired him in July 1985 holding ATP (Airline Transport Certificate) and a first–class medical certificate with no limitations by the FAA dated June 5, 2001. The captain, age 42, was hired by American Airlines in July 1985. He held an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) first–class medical certificate dated June 5, 2001, with no limitations and had a total of 8050 flying hours. The first officer was 34 years old at the moment of the fatal accident. He was hired by American Airlines in March 1991 and he holds an ATP and first–class medical certificates with a limitation given to him by the FAA on October 18, 2001. His medical certificate stated that he must wear correcting lenses and according to the American Airlines 4,403 total flying hours.

On the flight 587 accident report, it was determined that the aircraft accident occurred due to the rudder inputs done by the pilot in command, which was the first officer. With the flight plan established, the aircraft found some wake turbulence caused by an airliner that has the same flight plan. According to Skybrary (2017) "Wake Vortex Turbulence is defined as turbulence which is generated by the passage of an aircraft in flight. It will be generated from the point when the nose landing

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