Northwest 1482 was cleared from the gate towards Runway 03C, but it missed turning onto taxiway Oscar6 and instead entered the Outer taxiway. To correct the error, they were instructed to turn right onto Taxiway Xray, but the crew instead turned onto the active runway, 03C. They realized the mistake and contacted air traffic control, who told them to leave the runway immediately. Five seconds later, the crew saw the Boeing 727 heading towards them. The 727 was operating Northwest Flight 299 to Memphis, and had just been cleared for take-off. The 727's wing hit the right-hand side of the DC-9 and cut through the fuselage just below the windows, then continued aft, finally cutting off the DC-9's #2 engine. The DC-9 caught fire and was destroyed; the 727 sustained a damaged wing and was later repaired. The captain of the DC-9 escaped from his aircraft through the left sliding window. Eighteen people escaped the plane from the left overwing exit; thirteen persons got out through the left main boarding door; four people jumped from the right service door. The rear jumpseat flight attendant and a passenger died from smoke inhalation in the DC-9's tailcone; the tailcone release was not activated, and later investigation determined that release mechanism was mechanically inoperable. Of the surviving passengers, the NTSB stated that 10 received serious injuries and 23 received minor or no injuries. The three surviving crew members received minor or no injuries. The NTSB added that it did not receive medical records for three passengers who were admitted to a burn center; for purposes of the report, the NTSB labeled their injuries as serious. The NTSB also did not receive medical records for the copilot and six passengers who were treated and released from area hospitals; for the purposes of the report, the NTSB assumed that they received minor injuries.
Aircraft and crew
The Douglas DC-9 operating Flight 1482 was registered N3313L; it was built in 1966 and had a total of 62,253 operating hours. The DC-9 was delivered new to Delta before being sold to Northwest predecessor Southern Airways in 1973. The crew consisted of Captain William Lovelace, who had 23,000 flight hours with 4,000 in the DC-9, and First Officer James Schifferns, who had 4,685 flight hours with 185 in the DC-9. The Boeing 727 operating Flight 299 was registered N278US and had been purchased by Northwest in 1975. It had 37,310 operating hours. The aircraft was repaired and flew for Northwest until 1995. N278US was flown by Kitty Hawk Aircargo before being scrapped in 2011. The crew consisted of Captain Robert Ouellette, who had 10,400 flight hours with 5,400 on the 727, First Officer William Hagedorn, who had 5,400 flight hours with 2,350 on the 727, and Flight Engineer Darren Owen, who had flight 3,300 hours with 900 on the 727.
