Prober in Fatal Crash Says Other Pilots Found Airport Confusing

A pilot who strayed into a collision that killed eight people on a fog-bound runway was not alone in becoming confused when taxiing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a federal investigator said Thursday.

“We have had reports from some of the pilots who were interviewed who also said there had been confusion in the past, and not necessarily in low-visibility conditions,” said John Lauber, who heads a National Transportation Safety Board investigation of Monday’s crash.

Lauber, asked if the other pilots had voiced safety concerns about the runways, said: “All I can say is they have encountered situations where they were confused. I think the fact that they’ve come forward with that information is significant.”

The pilot of the DC-9 involved in the crash, Capt. William Lovelace, said he never heard an exchange between the control tower and James Schifferns, his first officer, in which Schifferns said the jet may have taken a wrong turn onto the runway.

Had he known, Lovelace told investigators, he would have “gone for the weeds,” maneuvering his DC-9 off the runway.

Eight people were killed and 24 were injured when the Northwest Airlines DC-9 was clipped by the Northwest Boeing 727-200, which was already lifting into takeoff.

Investigators steered a DC-9 Thursday over the route followed by Lovelace to document the path, the lighting and signs that might have been seen from the cockpit.

Monday’s weather conditions could not be re-created, but Lauber said it was possible that the exercise might be repeated when similar conditions exist.