Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88 accident near Flushing, New York, October 19, 1996
On October 19, 1996 at about 8:38 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88, registered N914DL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Flushing, New York (Laguardia airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 3 people had minor injuries; 60 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The Safety Board's full report is available at www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. NTSB Report AAR-97/03. the inability of the captain, because of his use of monovision contact lenses, to overcome his misperception of the airplane's position relative to the runway during the visual portion of the approach. This misperception occurred because of visual illusions produced by the approach over water in limited light conditions, the absence of visible ground features, the rain and fog, and the irregular spacing of the runway lights. Contributing to the accident was the lack of instantaneous vertical speed information available to the pilot not flying, and the incomplete guidance available to optometrists, aviation medical examiners, and pilots regarding the prescription of unapproved monovision contact lenses for use by pilots. (NTSB Report AAR-97/03)
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 19, 1996 · about 8:38 pm local time
- Place
- Flushing, New York · Laguardia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people had minor injuries; 60 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88
- Registration
- N914DL · no longer on the register · serial 49545
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. NTSB Report AAR-97/03. About 1638 eastern daylight time, on October 19, 1996, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88, N914DL, operated by Delta Air Lines, Inc., as flight 554, struck the approach light structure and the end of the runway deck during the approach to land on runway 13 at the LaGuardia Airport (LGA), in Flushing, New York. Flight 554 was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121, as a scheduled, domestic passenger flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Flushing. The flight departed the William B. Hartsfield International Airport at Atlanta, Georgia, about 1441, with two flightcrew members, three flight attendants, and 58 passengers on board. Three passengers reported minor injuries; no injuries were reported by the remaining 60 occupants. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage, wings (including slats and flaps), main landing gear, and both engines. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed for the approach to runway 13; flight 554 was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,024 hours in all; 3,578 in this make and model; 223 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 5,801 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,420 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 14, 1996; 275 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 149,500 lb
- Seats: 147
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-219 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Air Lines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 6:41 pm
- Destination: LGA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:34 pm from LGA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 3 | 55 |
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.