Airplane Crash - St. Louis, Missouri 07/23/1973

Details of airplane crash/ shootdown - St. Louis, Missouri

Date	07/23/1973
Time	16:43
Location	St. Louis, Missouri
Operator	Ozark Air Lines
Flight #	809
Route	Marion, IL - St. Louis
Type	Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B
Registration	N4215
Cn/In	513
Aboard	44
Fatalities	38
Ground	0
Summary	The aircraft crashed after attempting to land in thunderstorms with heavy rain and high winds. After passing the outer marker, the aircraft descended below the glide slope, entered an area of heavy rain, was struck by lightning and crashed into the ground short of the runway. The aircraft's encounter with a downdraft following the captain's decision to initiate and continue an instrument approach into a thunderstorm. Lack of a timely issuance of a severe weather warning by the National Weather Service.