Allegheny Airlines Flight 853
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 9, 1969 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | Moral Township, Shelby County, Indiana, United States 39°37′02″N 85°55′14″W / 39.61722°N 85.92056°W |
| Total fatalities | 83 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
| An Allegheny Airlines DC-9, similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 |
| Operator | Allegheny Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | AL853 |
| ICAO flight No. | ALO853 |
| Call sign | ALLEGHENY 853 |
| Registration | N988VJ |
| Flight origin | Boston Logan Airport |
| 1st stopover | Friendship International Airport |
| 2nd stopover | Greater Cincinnati Airport |
| 3rd stopover | Indianapolis International Airport |
| Destination | St. Louis International Airport |
| Occupants | 82 |
| Passengers | 78 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 82 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
| A Piper PA-28 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Type | Piper PA-28-140 |
| Registration | N7374J |
| Flight origin | Brookside Airpark, Brookside |
| Destination | Columbus Municipal Airport Columbus |
| Occupants | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 was a regularly scheduled Allegheny Airlines flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to St. Louis, Missouri, with stops in Baltimore, Maryland, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana. On September 9, 1969, the aircraft serving the flight, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, collided in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 light aircraft near Fairland, Indiana. The DC-9 was carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew members, and the Piper was leased to a student pilot on a solo cross-country flight. All 83 occupants of both aircraft were killed in the accident and both aircraft were destroyed.