On March 27, 1968, the Douglas DC-9-15 jetliner operating the flight, carrying 44 passengers and five crew, collided in mid-air with a single-engined Cessna 150F while both aircraft were on approach to the same runway at Lambert Field.

The DC-9 landed safely with no injuries to any of its 49 occupants, while both pilots in the two-person Cessna died in the collision and subsequent ground impact.

[3] The second accident aircraft was a Cessna 150F, registered N8669G, manufacturer's serial number 15062769,[4] owned and operated by Interstate Airmotive, Inc., a flight school.

[3] At 5:49 p.m., Ozark Air Lines Flight 965, was en route to Lambert Field and was transferred to St. Louis Approach Control.

It was daylight and clear weather conditions prevailed, with high, thin, broken clouds and 15 mi (24 km) visibility reported, but surface winds were strong, bearing 170° at 15–20 knots (17–23 mph; 28–37 km/h).

At 5:56 p.m., the pilots reported to the tower that they were on a right base leg for runway 17, and the controller advised them of Cessna N8669G ahead and to the right.

[3] The NTSB reconstructed the flight paths of both accident aircraft based on FDR and radar data.

[3] The NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident to be: "the inadequacy of current VFR separation standards in controlled airspace, the crew of the DC-9 not sighting the Cessna in time to avoid it, the absence of VFR traffic pattern procedures to enhance an orderly flow of landing aircraft, the local controller not assuring that important landing information issued to the Cessna was received and understood under the circumstances of a heavy traffic situation without radar assistance, and the Cessna crew's deviation from their traffic pattern instructions or their continuation to a critical point in the traffic pattern without informing the local controller of the progress of the flight.

"[3] The NTSB recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that daylight radar display equipment be installed at Lambert Field; that better utilization of radar be made for approaching traffic; and that VFR traffic corridors be established at Lambert Field and similar airports.

[3] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board.