Airplane runs traffic light when landing at Midway Airport

(Satellite)

Steve Winike posted
Remember when the southwest airplane skidded off the runway at Midway airport?
Susie Kroeger December 8, 2005 I believe...and yes, that was when the little boy was killed in a van.
Greg Vale Yes. Southwest repaired the 737 and re-numbered it with a new "N" number. Instead of - like the rest of their fleet - the N-number ending with "SW," they used the little boy's initials to honor him.
Greg Vale The final report cleared the airline & the pilots. It was Midway's fault for
#1) Not clearing ice & snow from the runway (18L)
#2) Clearing the 737 to land, instead of a go-around or clearing to O'Hare

I remember that it was caused by an icy runway and that a car passenger, rather than airline passengers, got killed. As a result of the investigation they installed cement at the ends of the runways that is designed to break up under the weight of the tires and create significant rolling resistance.

Satellite

Looking at a satellite image, you can see the "crunch zone" they have added.

Satellite

Zooming in, I see they then added what looks like some concrete block barriers. I guess they are willing to sacrifice the landing gear rather than have the plane continue onto a street. They can't use a "brick wall" to protect the streets because you don't want to kill the passengers. It is interesting that they have shoulder harnesses in cars, just seat belts in airplanes, and still have nothing in school buses.

Update: The above was not the first time that a mile-long runway proved to be too short.

Steve Winike posted
On December 18th 1949 a TWA airplane overshot the runway at Midway Airport and came to rest on Cicero Avenue and 59th Street in front of the Acme Bar And Grill (White Castle today). The passengers going west on the 63rd street streetcar had a front row seat!

Steve commented on his posting

Steve commented on his posting
Mateusz Żyła posted
Chicago weather was reported: ceiling 300 feet, visibility 1-1/2 miles with moderate fog and smoke, and wind west-southwest at 8 mph. The ILS approach was abandoned at the captains discretion and he started another. On this second approach the aircraft was observed to touchdown approximately 3,200 feet from the approach end of the runway. From this point, it traveled the remaining 2,530 feet of the runway, traveled 875 feet beyond the far end of runway 13R and went through a heavy chain link fence, crossed a parking lot and struck a billboard and a large ornamental stone pillar before coming to rest on Cicero Avenue in front of the Acme Bar and Grill. ( White Castle is there, today) Some of the passengers probably got out of the plane and walked right into the bar, no doubt.
Don Murphy shared
Bob Dusak: Was TWA Flight 154, A Lockheed O-49 Constellation, December 18,1949
Frank W Beaton: Flew out of Midway once never will I fly again , original plane from Orlando was supposed to be a 737 but it had mechanical issues , they put us on a 757 , coming in for the landing and next thing you know the engine's throttle up steep banking to the left , second landing attempt pilot dropped it hard after clearing the wall , finally we stopped and we had to back up the get to the terminal , asked the flight attendant WTF was that , she replied he either almost killed us or saved our lives.
Mary Ann Paskuly: I see my fair share of aborts on runway 4R. I can always tell by the sound before I get the visual.
Terry Clapper: I use to fly out of Midway all the time. The only time I experienced air sickness was flying into Midway one snowy January when the cross winds were so strong it forced open the cabin door violently, I could now see the blue lights the pilots use to guide them in, and keep them in line with the runway. The lights were going back and forth, that seemed to me, to be 90 degrees from one side to the other side. The pilot got it down safe, but I was thinking there was a good chance of ending up smack on Cicero Ave!!
Cindy Greenwald: Happened on 12-18-49. Lots of spilled av-gas. Luckily, the plane did not make contact with any of the PCC streetcars or overhead trolley wires on 63rd, or there might have been a different outcome. Less than six years later, a plane hit a gas station sign in the fog, at the opposite corner of Midway. It then went through the perimeter fence, slammed onto the runway, and broke into pieces. 22 dead, 21 injured.
Dean Barcelona: Cindy Greenwald a friend told me about that gas station crash since I was two young to recall that, he also told me they were dead bodies hanging from the bill board sign next to the gas station. I lived about 5 blocks away from that corner.
Cindy Greenwald: Dean Barcelona--Well, I never heard anything about the billboard until now. But I did see the twisted sign on a newsreel on YouTube, and in still photos. The sign was about twenty feet tall, or maybe more. The descent was too steep, and the sign ripped off part of a wing. Came in way too low in patchy summer fog. Cars full of gapers cruised slowly by, and there were crowds of people on the street side of the fence...probably close enough to see a few bodies on the runway. Different times. I thought the sign was at 55th and Cicero, but I recently learned it was at 55th and Central.
John Higgins: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php...
James Ragland: Why was he on 13R with a west southwest wind? That would make it a crosswind landing?
Ken Lubben: James Ragland no instrument approach for RWY 22. 13R had the lowest minimums.

Pat Minnie posted
(18Dec49) A TWA Constellation crashes through a fence and ends up on 63rd and Cicero. A west bound streetcar casually passes by on 63rd Street not more than 40 feet away.
Andre Kristopans There was a very different attitude those days. No cordoning off for blocks. People would walk right up to things. No "endless investigation". Just clean up the mess.

Midway Airport
[There were runways at 59th back then. But White Castle is down by 63rd.]