View source for American Airlines Flight 965

{{Short description|1995 aviation accident in Colombia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| image           = AA965 main wreckage area.png
| caption         = Wreckage of the aircraft at the crash site
| occurrence_type = Accident
| date            = December 20, 1995
| type            = [[Controlled flight into terrain]] caused by navigational error and [[pilot error]]
| site            = [[Guadalajara de Buga]], [[Valle del Cauca]], Colombia
| coordinates     = {{coord|3|50|45.2|N|76|06|17.1|W|region:CO-VAC_type:event_scale:300000|display=inline,title}}
| plane1_image = 12ca - American Airlines Boeing 757-223; N650AA@MIA;31.01.1998 (5327319166).jpg
| plane1_caption  = N650AA, sister aircraft to the one involved in the accident
| aircraft_type   = [[Boeing 757|Boeing 757–223]]
| IATA            = AA965
| ICAO            = AAL965
| callsign        = AMERICAN 965
| operator        = [[American Airlines]]
| tail_number     = N651AA
| origin          = [[Miami International Airport]], Florida, United States
| destination     = [[Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport]], Cali, Colombia
| occupants       = 163
| passengers      = 155
| crew            = 8
| fatalities      = 159
| injuries        = 4
| survivors       = 4 
}}
'''American Airlines Flight 965''' was a regularly scheduled flight from [[Miami International Airport]] in [[Miami]], Florida, to [[Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport]] in [[Cali]], Colombia. On December&nbsp;20, 1995, the [[Boeing 757-200]] flying this route ([[Aircraft registration|registration]] {{Airreg|N|651AA}}) crashed into a mountain in [[Buga, Valle del Cauca|Buga]], Colombia, around 9:40&nbsp;pm killing 151 of the 155 passengers and all 8 crew members.<ref name="aviation-safety">{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 757–223 N651AA Buga|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19951220-1|access-date=2019-02-01|website=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]]}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de/publications/Incidents/DOCS/ComAndRep/Cali/calirep.html AA965 Cali Accident Report] [[Colombian Civil Aviation Authority|Aeronautica Civil]]</ref>

The crash was the first US-owned 757 accident and is currently the deadliest aviation accident to occur in Colombia.<ref name="aviation-safety" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=Colombia air safety profile|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=HK|access-date=2019-02-01|website=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}</ref> It was also the deadliest accident involving a Boeing&nbsp;757 at that time,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=Boeing 757|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/types/Boeing-757/index|access-date=2019-02-01|website=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}</ref> but was surpassed by [[Birgenair Flight&nbsp;301]] which crashed seven weeks later with 189&nbsp;fatalities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 757–225 TC-GEN Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19960206-0|access-date=2019-02-01|website=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}</ref> Flight&nbsp;965 was the deadliest air disaster involving a US carrier since the bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite news |last=Acohido |first=Byron |date=January 18, 1996 |title=American Airlines jet crashes in the Andes |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19960118&slug=2309559 |access-date=May 6, 2009}}</ref>

The Colombian [[Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics]] investigated the accident and determined it was caused by navigational errors by the flight crew.<ref name="ac">{{Cite web|date=1996-09-06|title=Controlled Flight Into Terrain, American Airlines Flight 965, Boeing 757–223, N651AA, Near Cali, Colombia, December 20, 1995|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/1995/19951220_B752_N651AA.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=2020-01-04|publisher=Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics|via=Aviation Safety Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827083626/https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/1995/19951220_B752_N651AA.pdf |archive-date=August 27, 2024 }}</ref>

== Aircraft ==
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing&nbsp;757–223 registered N651AA. It was the 390th Boeing&nbsp;757 built. The aircraft was powered by two [[Rolls-Royce RB211]] engines.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

== Crew ==
The cockpit crew consisted of Captain Nicholas Tafuri (57), and First Officer Donald "Don" Williams (39).<ref name="Listofdead">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=December 23, 1995 |title=The List of the 164 People on Flight 965 |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/23/world/the-list-of-the-164-people-on-flight-965.html |access-date=May 6, 2009 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Both pilots were considered to be highly skilled airmen. Captain Tafuri had more than 13,000 hours of flying experience (including 2,260 hours on the [[Boeing 757]]/[[Boeing 767|767]]), and First Officer Williams had almost 6,000 hours, with 2,286 of them on the Boeing 757/767.<ref name="ac" />{{Reference page|page=5}}<!--The report states it like this because the Boeing 757 and 767 have the same type rating (though the 767 is a wide-body aircraft). However, the flight crew's experience on the 757 only, as well as on the 767 only, are both unknown.-->

Captain Tafuri had flown with the [[United States Air Force]] from 1963 to 1969 and served in the [[Vietnam War]], and joined American Airlines in 1969. First Officer Williams had flown with the [[US Navy]] from 1979 to 1986, and joined American Airlines in 1986.

==Flight history==
===Departure===
At that time, Flight&nbsp;965 mainly carried people returning to Colombia for the Christmas holiday, vacationers, and businesspeople.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 21, 1995 |title=Family members await crash news |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/update/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010211110028/https://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/update/index.html |archive-date=February 11, 2001 |access-date=March 29, 2008 |work=CNN}}</ref> A winter storm in the [[Northeast United States]] caused the airline to delay the departure of the airliner for 30&nbsp;minutes to allow for connecting passengers to board the flight, and seasonal congestion caused further delay.<ref name="CrashedintheAndes">{{cite news |date=December 21, 1995 |title=American Airlines jet crashes in the Andes |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/10am_update/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010424093039/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/10am_update/index.html |archive-date=April 24, 2001 |access-date=May 6, 2009 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Flight&nbsp;965 took off at 6:35&nbsp;pm&nbsp;[[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] (23:35&nbsp;UTC), nearly two&nbsp;hours late<!--compared to the scheduled departure time of 4:40-->.<ref name=ac/>{{Reference page|page=2}}<ref name="ac2">{{Cite web|url=http://sunnyday.mit.edu/accidents/calirep.html|title=Cali Accident Report|website=sunnyday.mit.edu|access-date=2019-05-30}}</ref><ref name="Mayday Lost">{{Cite episode|title=Lost|series=[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]|network=[[Discovery Channel Canada]] / [[National Geographic Channel]]|season=2|number=5|year=2004}}</ref>

===Going off-course===
Cali's air traffic controllers had no functional radar to monitor the 757, as it had been blown up in 1992 by the terror group [[FARC]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UIBzCC0c2McC&pg=PA904|title=Terrorism, 1992–1995: A Chronology of Events and a Selectively Annotated Bibliography|last1=Mickolus|first1=Edward F.|last2=Simmons|first2=Susan L.|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=1997|isbn=978-0-313-30468-2|page=904}}</ref> Cali's approach uses several radio beacons to guide pilots around the mountains and canyons that surround the city. The airplane's [[flight management system]] (FMS) navigation computer already had these beacons programmed in, and should have, in theory, told the pilots exactly where to turn, climb, and descend, all the way from Miami to the terminal in Cali.<ref name="Mayday Lost" />

Since the wind was calm, Cali's controllers asked the pilots whether they wanted to fly a non-precision straight-in approach to runway&nbsp;19 rather than coming around for a precision ILS-approach to runway&nbsp;01. The pilots agreed to the straight-in approach, hoping to make up some time. The pilots then mistakenly cleared all the programmed approach [[waypoint]]s from the flight plan in the aircraft FMS. When the controller asked the pilots to report passing over the Tulua [[VHF omnidirectional range|VOR]] (identified as "ULQ") north of Cali, it was no longer programmed into the FMS flight plan, so they had to find the VOR identifier "ULQ" in their approach chart. In the meantime, they extended the aircraft's [[Air brake (aircraft)|speed brakes]] to slow it down and expedite its descent.<ref name=ac/>

By the time the pilots had selected the Tulua VOR identifier "ULQ" into the FMS flight plan, they had already passed over it. The pilots then tried to select the next approach waypoint Rozo in the FMS. However, the Rozo [[non-directional beacon]] (NDB) was identified as "R" in their approach chart but not in the FMS. Instead the FMS database used a different naming convention and identified the Rozo NDB as "ROZO". Colombia had also duplicated the identifier "R" for the Romeo NDB near [[Bogotá]] {{convert|150|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} from Cali, which is not in line with the ICAO standard effective from 1978 to only duplicate identifiers if more than {{convert|600|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} apart. By selecting "R" from the waypoint list, the captain caused the autopilot to start flying a course to Bogotá, resulting in the airplane turning east in a wide semicircle. The pilots then attempted to correct this by turning back to the south. By the time the error was detected, the aircraft was in a valley running roughly north–south parallel to the one they should have been in. The pilots had put the aircraft on a collision course with a {{convert|3000|m|adj=on|sp=us}} mountain.<ref name=aopa>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aopa.org/asf/asfarticles/2001/sp0104.html |title=AOPA "Lessons from Cali" Article |access-date=February 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214081915/http://www.aopa.org/asf/asfarticles/2001/sp0104.html |archive-date=February 14, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The air traffic controller, Nelson Rivera Ramírez, believed that some of the requests of the pilots did not make sense, but did not know enough non-aviation English to convey this.<ref>{{cite web|title=The AA965 Cali accident|url=http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/~tg/courses/6231/assign/fall97/pilot_display/pages/cali.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070616090808/http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/~tg/courses/6231/assign/fall97/pilot_display/pages/cali.htm|archive-date=June 16, 2007|access-date=March 29, 2008|publisher=[[Georgia Institute of Technology]]}}</ref>

=== Crash ===
[[File:AA965 initial impact area.png|thumb|left|Initial impact area of the aircraft on the east face of the mountain. Most of the wreckage went over the summit and came to rest on the west face of the mountain.<ref name="ac" />{{Reference page|page=13}}]]
Twelve seconds before the plane hit the mountain, named {{lang|es|El Diluvio}} (the Deluge),<ref name="spottingcali">{{cite web|url=http://spottingcali.blogspot.com/2011/12/16o-aniversario-del-accidente-del-vuelo.html|title=16o ANIVERSARIO DEL ACCIDENTE DEL VUELO 965 DE AMERICAN AIRLINES. CERRO EL DILUVIO, BUGA VALLE. Parte 1|last1=Escobar|first1=Jaime|last2=Restrepo|first2=Andrés|website=Spotting in SKCL/CLO|language=es-CO|trans-title=16th ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 965 ACCIDENT. CERRO EL DILUVIO, BUGA VALLE. Part 1|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref> the [[ground proximity warning system]] (GPWS) activated, announcing an imminent terrain collision and sounding an alarm. Within a second of this warning, the first officer disengaged the autopilot, and the captain attempted to climb clear of the mountain. Within two seconds of the warning, take-off power was selected, and in the next second, pitch was increased to 20.6° upwards, causing activation of the [[stick shaker]].<ref name="skybrary">{{Cite web|title=B752, vicinity Cali Colombia, 1995|url=https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/B752,_vicinity_Cali_Colombia,_1995|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-14|website=www.skybrary.aero|date=April 5, 2021|publisher=SKYbrary Aviation Safety|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203101159/http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/B752,_vicinity_Cali_Colombia,_1995|archive-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> The stick shaker mechanically vibrates the control yoke (the "stick") to warn the flight crew of an imminent [[stall (fluid dynamics)|aerodynamic stall]].

[[File:American Airlines Flight 965 crashsite 2.jpg|alt=Another angle of the wreckage|thumb|Another angle of the wreckage]]
When take-off power was selected, neither pilot had remembered to disengage the previously deployed speed brakes, which were fully extended and significantly reduced the rate of climb. At 9:41:28&nbsp;pm&nbsp;EST, the aircraft struck trees at about {{convert|8920|ft|order=flip||}} above mean sea level on the east side of the {{convert|9000|ft|m|order=flip|adj=mid|-tall|sp=us}} mountain. The last record on the flight data recorder indicated that the plane was flying at {{convert|187|kn|km/h mph||||}} and with a pitch attitude of almost 28°. The crash was {{convert|9.7|km|mi nmi||abbr=on}} south of Tulua VOR and {{convert|28|km|mi nmi||abbr=on}} north of the approach end of runway 19 at Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport.<ref name=ac/> The aircraft impacted near the summit, with most of wreckage clearing the mountain and falling on the opposite side.<ref name="ac" />{{Reference page|page=13}}

Five passengers, all seated within two rows of each other, survived the initial impact, but one died two days later of his injuries.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Sider|first=Don|date=January 8, 1996|title=Miracle on the Mountain|url=https://people.com/archive/miracle-on-the-mountain-vol-45-no-1/|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=June 22, 2009}}</ref> In addition to the four human survivors,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dussan |first1=Michelle |title=Experience: I survived a plane crash that killed 151 people |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/30/experience-i-survived-a-plane-crash-that-killed-151-people |access-date=30 July 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=30 July 2021}}</ref> a dog, which had been in a carrier in the cargo hold at the time of the crash, survived the accident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Torcha |first=Chris |date=1995-12-22 |title=Four Survive American Airlines Crash in Colombia |url=https://apnews.com/article/ed2152663a4e29476cb62d0cd432064e |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220205421/https://apnews.com/article/ed2152663a4e29476cb62d0cd432064e |archive-date=2022-12-20 |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=AP NEWS}}</ref>

== Investigation ==
The crash was investigated by the [[Colombian Civil Aviation Authority|Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics]] ({{Langx|es|Aeronáutica Civil}}) of the [[Republic of Colombia]],<ref name=ac/> with assistance from the US [[National Transportation Safety Board]] (NTSB), as well as other parties, including the US [[Federal Aviation Administration]], [[Allied Pilots Association]], [[American Airlines]], [[Boeing Commercial Airplanes|Boeing Commercial Airplane Group]], and [[Rolls-Royce Holdings|Rolls-Royce Engines]].

The investigations revealed that neither the Boeing fixed-base simulator nor the flight management system simulator could be [[backdrive]]n with the data obtained directly from the accident airplane's [[flight data recorder]] (FDR). Because the 757 flight simulators could not be backdriven during the tests, whether the airplane would have missed the mountain/tree tops if the speedbrakes had been retracted during the climb attempt could not be determined with precision,<ref name="ac" /> but the final report stated that if the flightcrew had retracted the speedbrakes one second after initiating the escape maneuver, the airplane could have been climbing through a position that was {{convert|150|ft|order=flip|abbr=on|}} above the initial impact point.<ref name="ac" />{{Reference page|page=50}} Because the airplane would have continued to climb and had the potential to increase its rate of climb, it might well have cleared the trees at the top of the mountain.

The ''Civil Aeronautics'' prepared a final report of its investigation in September&nbsp;1996, which was released through the US NTSB.<ref name="ntsb">{{cite web|title=NTSB Report Summary|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001207X04990&ntsbno=DCA96RA020&akey=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213120410/https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001207X04990&ntsbno=DCA96RA020&akey=1|archive-date=February 13, 2009|access-date=March 29, 2008|publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]]|quote=Note: passenger number on NTSB summary is 156, vs. 155 on final report}}</ref>

In its report, the ''Civil Aeronautics'' determined these probable causes of the accident:

<blockquote>
# The flight crew's failure to adequately plan and execute the approach to runway 19 at SKCL and their inadequate use of automation
# Failure of the flight crew to discontinue the approach into Cali, despite numerous cues alerting them of the inadvisability of continuing the approach
# The lack of situational awareness of the flight crew regarding vertical navigation, proximity to terrain, and the relative location of critical radio aids
# Failure of the flight crew to revert to basic radio navigation at the time when the [[flight management system]]-assisted navigation became confusing and demanded an excessive workload in a critical phase of the flight</blockquote>

In addition, the ''Civil Aeronautics'' determined that these factors contributed to the accident:

<blockquote>
# The flight crew's ongoing efforts to expedite their approach and landing to avoid potential delays
# The flight crew's execution of the ground proximity warning system escape maneuver while the speedbrakes remained deployed
# FMS logic that dropped all intermediate fixes from the display(s) in the event of execution of a direct routing
# FMS-generated navigational information that used a different naming convention from that published in navigational charts</blockquote>

The ''Civil Aeronautics'''s report also included a variety of safety-related recommendations to the involved parties (number of individual recommendations in parentheses):<ref name=ac/>

*US FAA (17)
*[[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (3)
*American Airlines (2)

Investigators later labeled the accident a nonsurvivable event, citing the impact forces and subsequent destruction of the aircraft.<ref name="ac" />{{Reference page|pages=15,55}}<ref name="Mayday Lost" />

==Aftermath==
Rachel L. Swarns of ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that within the United States, after people learned of the status of the flight, "mourning was most keenly concentrated yesterday in the larger Colombian communities" in the [[East Coast (United States)|East Coast]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Swarns|first=Rachel L.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/23/world/families-of-the-victims-are-united-in-mourning.html|title=Families of the Victims Are United in Mourning|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=1995-12-23|access-date=2025-04-25}}</ref>

Scavengers took engine thrust reversers, cockpit avionics, and other components from the crashed 757, using Colombian military and private helicopters to go to and from the crash site. Many of the stolen components reappeared as [[unapproved aircraft part]]s on the black market in [[Greater Miami]] parts brokers.<ref name="Bajak">{{Cite news |last=Bajak |first=Frank |date=1996-12-08 |title=Bogus parts plague airline industry |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90219051/bogus-parts-plague-airline-industry/ |access-date=2021-12-08 |work=Sunday News |page=A9 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In response, the airline published a 14-page list stating all of the parts missing from the crashed aircraft. The list included the serial numbers of all of the parts.<ref name="Bajak" />

In 1997, [[Stanley Marcus (judge)|US District Judge Stanley Marcus]] ruled that the pilots had committed "willful misconduct"; the ruling applied to American Airlines, which represented the dead pilots.<ref>Wald, Matthew L. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/12/world/american-airlines-ruled-guilty-of-misconduct-in-95-cali-crash.html American Airlines Ruled Guilty Of Misconduct in '95 Cali Crash]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. Friday September 12, 1997. Retrieved on August 24, 2009.</ref> The judge's ruling was subsequently reversed in June&nbsp;1999 by the US Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which also overturned the jury verdict and declared that the judge in the case was wrong in issuing a finding of fault with the pilots, a role which should have been reserved for the jury only.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 16, 1999 |title=Cali Crash Case Overturned |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cali-crash-case-overturned/ |access-date=August 30, 2009 |work=[[CBS News]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

American Airlines settled numerous lawsuits brought against it by the families of the victims of the accident. American Airlines filed a "third-party complaint" lawsuit for contribution against [[Jeppesen]] and [[Honeywell]], which made the navigation computer database and failed to include the coordinates of Rozo under the identifier "R"; the case went to trial in [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida]] in Miami. At the trial, American Airlines admitted that it bore some legal responsibility for the accident. Honeywell and Jeppesen each contended that they had no legal responsibility for the accident. In June&nbsp;2000, the jury found that Jeppesen was 30% at fault for the crash, Honeywell was 10% at fault, and American Airlines was 60% at fault.<ref>{{cite web|title=Crash of American Airlines Boeing in Failure Knowledge Database|url=http://www.sozogaku.com/fkd/en/cfen/CA1000293.html|publisher=Hatamura Institute for the Advancement of Technology|access-date=April 15, 2011}}</ref>

An enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) that could have prevented the accident was introduced in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) |url=http://www51.honeywell.com/aero/technology/key-technologies2/avionics3/egpws.html?c=23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002025011/http://www51.honeywell.com/aero/technology/key-technologies2/avionics3/egpws.html?c=23 |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |publisher=Honeywell Aerospace Engineering}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Accident Overview |url=https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/N651AA |access-date=2020-06-16 |website=lessonslearned.faa.gov |publisher=[[Federal Aviation Administration]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Phillips|first=Don|date=1996-05-05|title=Cali Crash Questions Safety of Automated Flight|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-05-mn-661-story.html|access-date=2020-06-16|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

All US-registered turbine-powered aircraft capable of carrying more than six passengers built since 2002 are required to have an advanced [[terrain awareness warning system]].<ref>{{cite web |date=June 14, 2000 |title=Installation of Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) Approved for Part 23 Airplanes, Advisory Circular 23-18 |url=https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_23-18.pdf |access-date=May 4, 2020 |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation}}<br />Note: Original text copied from [https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/22312 U.S. FAA Circular AC23-18]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library%5CrgFAR.nsf/0/465764AB441B0864862568C8006451A9?OpenDocument |title=Sec. 121.354 – Terrain awareness and warning system |access-date=May 4, 2020 |publisher=[[Federal Aviation Administration]] |archive-date=December 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208151802/http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library%5CrgFAR.nsf/0/465764AB441B0864862568C8006451A9?OpenDocument |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{As of|2024|07}}, American Airlines continues to operate the Miami–Cali route, as American Airlines Flight&nbsp;919 and American Airlines Flight&nbsp;921, both operated by {{nowrap|1=[[Boeing 737 MAX|Boeing 737 MAX 8]]}} aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flight history for American Airlines flight AA921|url=https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/aa921|access-date=2020-06-16|website=Flightradar24}}</ref>

==Notable deaths==
* [[Paris Kanellakis]], a computer scientist at [[Brown University]], died with his wife and two children.
* [[Benny Ramírez]], an insurance agent, a former professional wrestler and a former [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA) Texas Heavyweight Champion and [[NWA International Tag Team Championship]], whose wrestling career spanned from 1959 to 1983. Ramírez, along with his wife and youngest child were passengers on the flight. He and his wife perished in the crash. Their child was one of the four survivors.<ref name="Listofdead"/>

The US government encountered difficulty while trying to distinguish Americans from non-Americans, as many passengers held [[dual citizenship]]s.<ref name="Cargohold">"[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D636419F0831&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Number of survivors reported drops to 4 Finding how many Americans on board difficult, official says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705003227/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D636419F0831&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=July 5, 2018 }}." ''Associated Press''. December 23, 1995.</ref>

==In popular culture==
* The events of Flight&nbsp;965 were featured in "Lost", a [[List of Mayday episodes#Season 2 (2005)|season-two]] (2005) episode of the Canadian TV series ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]''<ref name="Mayday Lost"/> (called ''Air Emergency'' and ''Air Disasters'' in the US and ''Air Crash Investigation'' in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The episode was broadcast with the title "Crash on the Mountain" in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
* The accident was also featured on ''[[Why Planes Crash]]'' on [[MSNBC]], in a 2015 episode titled "Sudden Impact".{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
* The 2018 episode "Disastrous Descents" of the TV series ''Aircrash Confidential'', produced by WMR Productions and IMG Entertainment, featured the accident.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
* A documentary film released in 2021, ''American&nbsp;965'',<ref>{{citation |title= American 965 (2021) |work=[[Internet Movie Database|IMDb]] |url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4538674/ |access-date= 28 December 2021}}</ref> directed and produced by a former [[British Airways]] [[Pilot in command|captain]] with Fact Not Fiction Films, suggests a different possible cause for the accident.<ref>{{Cite web |title= American 965 Documentary Film |author=<!--not stated--> |website=american965.com |url= https://www.american965.com |access-date= 28 December 2021}}</ref><ref name=loraine>{{Cite web |title=Investigative documentary 'American 965' opens in Los Angeles this week exposing shocking new evidence |author=<!--not stated--> |website=Los Angeles Issue |date=9 July 2021 |url= https://losangelesissue.com/2021/07/09/investigative-documentary-american-965-opens-in-los-angeles-this-week-exposing-shocking-new-evidence/}}</ref>
*''[[Outlook (radio programme)|Outlook]]'', a [[BBC World Service]] radio program, had an episode titled "The Father and Daughter Finding Closure After a Plane Crash", which consisted of interviews with two of the survivors of the crash.<ref>{{citation |date=December 16, 2021|title= Outlook – The father and daughter finding closure after a plane crash |work=[[BBC Sounds]] |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct1k44 |access-date= December 28, 2021}}</ref>
*The accident is featured prominently in the 2011 novel ''The Sound of Things Falling'' by Colombian author [[Juan Gabriel Vásquez|Juan Gabriel Vasquez]].
* AA Flight 965 is described in Season 2, Episode 1 of the HBO series, [[The Rehearsal (TV series)|''The Rehearsal'']] (title: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21839098/?ref%20=ttep%20ep%201 ''Gotta Have Fun'']).
* In a 2022 episode of the podcast ''Other  People's Lives'', survivor Michelle Dussan is interviewed.

==See also==
* [[Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712]]
* [[Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518]]
* [[Trigana Air Flight 267]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{external media | float = right
| image1 =
[https://www.airliners.net/search?registrationActual=N651AA&display=detail Pre-crash photo taken from Airliners.net]
}}
*[[Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics]]
**[https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/1995/19951220_B752_N651AA.pdf Final Accident Report – AA965] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818200325/https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1995/19951220-1_B752_N651AA.pdf |date=August 18, 2021 }}<!--Old URL: https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1995/19951220-1_B752_N651AA.pdf-->
***[http://www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de/publications/Incidents/DOCS/ComAndRep/Cali/calirep.html Text version of final report] – Prepared for the [[World Wide Web]] by Peter Ladkin of [[Bielefeld University]] ([http://sunnyday.mit.edu/accidents/calirep.html Alt], [http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1056.pdf Alt #2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717175527/http://sunnyday.mit.edu/accidents/calirep.html Archive], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150824122349/http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1056.pdf Archive of Alt #2] [https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234606/http://www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de/publications/Incidents/DOCS/ComAndRep/Cali/calirep.html Alt Archive])
***[http://www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de/publications/Incidents/DOCS/ComAndRep/Cali/appendices.html Appendices] – The people who prepared them for the [[World Wide Web]] used [[Deskscan II]] to scan photocopies of them
**{{in lang|es}} [https://www.aerocivil.gov.co:443/info/aeronautica_civil/media/1740514778_COL-95-34-GIA%20Inf%20Final%20Acc%20N651AA%20Bugalagrande%2020-dic-95.pdf Final Accident Report – AA965] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20111004033604/http://portal.aerocivil.gov.co/portal/pls/portal/!PORTAL.wwpob_page.show?_docname=6595799.PDF Archive], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125614/http://www.aerocivil.gov.co/AAeronautica/InvAccidentes/LAccidentes/Documents/N%20651%20AA%20%20Espa%C3%B1ol.pdf Alt Archive])<!--Old URL: http://www.aerocivil.gov.co/autoridad-de-la-aviacion-civil/investigacion/Histricos%20Accidentes/N%20651%20AA%20%20Espa%C3%B1ol.pdf--> – Translation by Captain José Bestene Mattar and Maria Isabel Bobrez Orozco
* "[http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/wrap/index.html At least four of 164 passengers survive U.S. jet crash in Colombia]," ''CNN''
* Zarrella, John. "[http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/bullet/index.html Tearful relatives head to Colombia]," ''CNN''. December 22, 1995.
* "[http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/2pm_update/index.html More survivors pulled from wreckage of U.S. jet]," ''CNN''. December 21, 1995.
* Dewar, Steuart. "[https://www.cs.brown.edu/~pck/press.html Brown professor, wife, 2 children killed in crash]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140825210526/http://cs.brown.edu/~pck/press.html Archive]). ''[[The Associated Press]]'', posted at ''[[Brown University]]''.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/survivorsguide/survivor_story/ BBC Horizon Program] interviewing Mercedes Ramirez Johnson, a survivor of AA flight 965
* [http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=400851 CNN Evening News for Friday, 22 December 1995 Headline: Colombia / American Airlines Plane Crash] ''[[Vanderbilt University]]'' Television Archive
* [http://www.mercedesramirezjohnson.com/ Mercedes Ramirez Johnson website]
* Mercer, Pamela. "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04EFD61339F93AA25756C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Pair Who Survived a Crash Relieved to Be on Home Soil]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. May 19, 1996.
*[http://lw.bna.com/lw/19990629/984739.htm Piamba Cortes v. American Airlines Inc.] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080201045224/http://lw.bna.com/lw/19990629/984739.htm Archive])
* [http://www.rvs-bi.de/publications/compendium/incidents_and_accidents/cali_american_airlines_b757.html B757 Cali Accident in the Compendium of Computer-Related Incidents with Commercial Aircraft] including a copy of the Colombian accident report.
* [http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cvr951220.htm Cockpit voice recording transcript]

{{American Airlines}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Colombia}}
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1995}}
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[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Colombia]]
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[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error]]
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[[Category:American Airlines accidents and incidents|965]]
[[Category:1995 in Colombia]]
[[Category:Colombia–United States relations]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 757]]
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