View source for Galaxy Airlines Flight 203

{{short description|1985 aviation accident}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Accident
| name            = Galaxy Airlines Flight 203
| Date            = January 21, 1985
| Type            = [[Pilot error]] and ground crew error
| image           = N5532 Galaxy Airlines.jpg
| image_upright   = 1.16
| alt             = 
| caption         = N5532, the [[Lockheed L-188 Electra#L-188A Electra|Lockheed L-188A Electra]] involved in the accident
| Site            = Near [[Reno–Tahoe International Airport|Reno–Cannon International Airport]], [[Reno, Nevada]], United States
| Coordinates     = {{coord|39.465281|-119.782223|type:event|display=inline,title}}
| occupants       = 71
| passengers      = 65
| crew            = 6
| injuries        = 1
| fatalities      = 70
| missing         = 
| survivors       = 1
| aircraft_type   = [[Lockheed L-188 Electra#L-188A Electra|Lockheed L-188A Electra]]
| callsign        = GALAXY 203
| tail_number     = N5532
| origin          = [[Reno–Tahoe International Airport|Reno–Cannon International Airport]], [[Reno]], [[Nevada]]
| stopover        = 
| stopover0       = 
| last_stopover   = 
| destination     = [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport]], [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]]
| aircraft_name   = 
| operator        = [[Galaxy Airlines (United States)|Galaxy Airlines]]
}}

'''Galaxy Airlines Flight 203''' was a [[Lockheed L-188 Electra]] 4-engine turboprop, registration N5532, operating as a non-scheduled charter flight from [[Reno, Nevada]] to [[Minneapolis/St Paul]], which crashed on January 21, 1985, shortly after takeoff. All but 1 of the 71 on board died.<ref name="asn19850121-0">{{ASN accident|id=19850121-0|title="The January 21, 1985 accident of Lockheed L-188A Electra N5532 at Reno/Tahoe International Airport, NV (RNO)."|accessdate=October 23, 2006}}</ref>

==Background==

===Aircraft===
The aircraft involved was a Lockheed L-188A Electra, [[Aircraft registration|registration]] N5532. It had accumulated a total of 34,149 flight hours at the time of the crash, including 33,285 flight cycles. It was powered by four Allison 501D13 engines.<ref name="AAR-86-01 Final Report" />

===Crew===
The crew consisted of [[Pilot in command|Captain]] Allen D. Heasley (age 49), [[First officer (aviation)|First Officer]] Kevin Charles Fieldsa (27), [[Flight Engineer]] Marc Charles Freels (23) and three flight attendants. Captain Heasley was a highly experienced pilot, having accumulated 14,500 flight hours, of which 5,600 were in the L-188. First Officer Fieldsa had accumulated 5,000 flight hours, of which 172 were in the L-188. Flight Engineer Freels had accumulated 262 flight hours, all of which were in the L-188.<ref name="AAR-86-01 Final Report" />

==Accident==
[[File:Lockheed L-188 Electra, American Airlines JP7179643.jpg|The aircraft involved in the crash while still in operation with [[American Airlines]] as N6130A|thumb]]
The flight, which was returning from a gambling and [[Super Bowl]] trip sponsored by [[Caesars Tahoe]], took off from runway 16R at Reno-Cannon International Airport (now [[Reno–Tahoe International Airport]]) at 1:04&nbsp;am on January 21, 1985. Heavy vibration started shortly after takeoff, and the pilots asked the tower for permission to make a left downwind turn, saying they needed to land. A short time later, the aircraft crashed about {{convert|1.5|mi|abbr=on}} from the end of the runway and burst into flames. Debris was scattered across [[US Highway 395]] and South Virginia Street; a store and several vehicles on the ground were damaged. Of the 71 people aboard, three initially survived. One died on January 29 and another on February 4. The sole survivor was a 17-year-old boy who was thrown clear of the aircraft and landed upright, conscious and still in his seat, on South Virginia Street.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,959874,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204103306/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,959874,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |title=Crash of a Troubled Bird |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |author1=Magnuson, Ed |author2=Kane, Joseph J. |author3=Mathison, Dirk  |date=February 4, 1985}}</ref><ref name="kare">{{cite web |url=http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=74123 |title=The Legacy of Galaxy Flight 203 |first=Allen |last=Costantini |work=kare11.org |date=2005 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415063718/http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=74123 |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 22, 2021 }}</ref>

==Investigation==
[[File:Airstart1.jpg|thumb|Air start door sketch (from NTSB report)]]
[[File:Airstart2.jpg|thumb|Air start door location (from NTSB report)]]

The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] concluded that the probable cause of the accident was
{{quote|the captain's failure to control and the copilot's failure to monitor the flight path and airspeed of the aircraft. This breakdown in crew coordination followed the onset of unexpected vibration shortly after takeoff{{nbsp}}... Contributing to the accident was the failure of ground handlers to properly close an air start access door, which led to the vibration.}}

The NTSB found that ground handlers did not properly close the [[Air-start system|air start]] access door due to an interruption in their procedures: when a supervisor realized that the headset used for communication with the flight crew was not working, he switched to using hand signals mid-routine. In the confusion the supervisor signaled the flight to taxi before the air start hose had been disconnected. After the supervisor realized his error and signaled the flight crew to make an emergency stop, the hose was successfully disconnected but the air start access door was not closed.

The report concluded that the open access door caused vibrations which distracted the pilots, though they would likely not have prevented the aircraft from reaching cruise speed and altitude{{snd}}there had been reports from other Electra pilots that the vibrations ceased at higher air speeds. The pilots reduced power to all four engines simultaneously, presumably to see whether they were the source of the vibrations, and did not restore power quickly enough to prevent a [[Stall (fluid dynamics)|stall]].<ref name="AAR-86-01 Final Report">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=February 4, 1986 |title=Aircraft Accident Report, Galaxy Airlines Inc., Lockheed Electra-L-1 88C, N5532, Reno, Nevada, January 21, 1985 |url=http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR86-01.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2006 |website= |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |via=[[Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University]] |id=NTSB/AAR-86/01}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
A memorial called Galaxy Grove was dedicated at Rancho San Rafael in 1986. After the plaque was stolen in 2013, a two-ton granite replacement was installed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-01-20 |title=Memories still raw for sole survivor of '85 plane crash |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/20/memories-still-raw-for-sole-survivor-of-85-plane-crash/22080969/ |access-date=August 27, 2019 |work=USA Today}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of sole survivors of airline accidents or incidents]]

==References==
{{NTSB}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.airsafe.com/events/survivor.htm Plane Crashes Since 1970 with a Sole Survivor] at airsafe.com.

{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1985}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1980s}}
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1985]]
[[Category:January 1985 in the United States]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in Nevada|Galaxy Airlines Flight 203]]
[[Category:Galaxy Airlines (United States) accidents and incidents]]
[[Category:History of Reno, Nevada]]
[[Category:1985 in Nevada]]
[[Category:Reno–Tahoe International Airport]]