Boeing 767-300ER-33A incident near Chicago, Illinois, November 20, 1996
On November 20, 1996 at about 1:24 am local time, a Boeing 767-300ER-33A, registered GOITG, was involved in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 140 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the approach controller's failure to issue the frequency change to the flightcrew, and the pilot landing without clearance. A factor relating to this incident is the pilot's decision to land without clearance.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 20, 1996 · about 1:24 am local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 140 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-300ER-33A 767-300ER- · all 767-300ER-33As on the register
- Registration
- GOITG · no longer on the register · serial 27918
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The captain was flying the localizer approach for runway 9R into O'Hare airport, and the first officer was handling radio communications with Chicago Approach Control. The captain said that the frequency was extremely busy, and at no time during the approach did they receive another frequency change. The controller at O'Hare Tower controlling arrivals on runway 9R saw the airplane and inquired on his frequency, 'Alitalia 638 heavy are you with me, sir?' There was no response. The controller repeated the transmission and then broadcasted, 'Alitalia 638 heavy, are you with me, sir, execute a missed approach.' The first officer made a call to what he thought was O'Hare tower that they were on short final. The controller at Chicago Approach Control transmitted, 'short final, go over to tower one two one seven five.' The controller transmitted the instruction two more times. The captain checked the runways, saw no conflicting traffic, and landed the airplane without clearance. Investigation of the Terminal Radar Air Traffic Control facility, Elgin, Illinois, revealed that the controller did not issue the instruction to the airplane to switch over to O'Hare tower's radio frequency.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 580 in this make and model; 219 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,526 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 19, 1996; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 300,000 lb
- Seats: 211
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-80C2-B6F (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Monarch Airlines Limited
The flight
- Departed from: IRF Rome at 3:00 pm
- Destination: ORD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9R, 10,141 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 129 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.