It was February 1st, 1991. USAir flight 1493 was on its final approach to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) . The flight had been smooth and uneventful and now the sun was setting.
The Boeing 737-300 had 83 passengers and 6 crew onboard. The aircraft had started out that day from Syracuse, New York. There was a crew change in Washington DC, then they flew on to Columbus, Ohio.
After Los Angeles, the flight was due to end in San Francisco. The crew The captain that day was Colin Shaw and the first officer (pilot flying) was David Kelly. Working in the cabin were Deanna Bethea, the senior flight attendant , and her crew, Vance Spurgeon, Patricia Hodges and Bill Ibarra.
Deanna was seated at L1, Bill at R1, Patricia at L2 and Vance at R2. Deanna was working in the first-class cabin. On the ground A Fairchild Metroliner was bound for Palmdale, California.
It was the last leg of a multi-scheduled day. There were two flight crew and ten passengers onboard SkyWest 5569. The Metroliner was cleared to taxi from gate 32 to runway 24L via taxiways Kilo, 48, Tango and 45 by the controller.
SkyWest 5569 was briefly not visible to the tower, on taxi way 48 between Kilo and Tango. A Wings West aircraft had landed on 24R and was waiting for permission to cross to 24L, but the controller was having issues contacting them, which distracted her. The SkyWest Metroliner was cleared by the controller to taxi and hold on 24L at the intersection.
After four attempts, the controller managed to c.