May 25,1979 DC-10 crashes, killing all aboard
American Airlines DC10
27 years ago on this day in 1979 almost 300 people are killed when an American Airlines flight crashes and explodes after losing one engine just after takeoff. When I say it lost an engine, I mean it literally. The left one fell off.
It was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend in 1979 when 277 passengers filled Flight 191 from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport bound for Los Angeles. The DC-10 jet took off normally but after rising to only 400 feet, stalled and then rolled to the left. The plane quickly plunged, crashing into Ravenswood Airport, which had been abandoned and was no longer in use.
Last seconds before impact. If you look closely, you can see the fuel spewing from the left wing where #1 engine had been before it fell off.
The plane, fully loaded with fuel, exploded on impact, killing all 277 people on board instantly. The heat from the fire was so intense that firefighters could not approach the crash for close to an hour. The crash also caused a fire at a nearby mobile-home park and killed two bystanders on the ground. This was only natural because in every catastrophe, somebody in a trailer park has to buy it. Its like a law of nature or something. Also, a Standard Oil gas storage facility was also nearly hit.
Following this crash, all DC-10s in the United States were impounded and grounded by judicial order because there was no immediate determination as to the cause of the crash and it was feared that it could have been caused by a problem common to the jet type.
This one fell off. The engine that is, not the d00d.
Ultimately, it was found that the left pylon, which supported the turbofan engine, came loose and took out the hydraulic lines. The left wing slats then retracted and the plane could not lift off properly. The American Airlines maintenance crew was found to be at fault--they had failed to follow the proper procedures when removing the engine and pylon during repairs and maintenance. (I haven't bothered to research the total of the settlement amounts paid by American to victims' families but it had to be massive.)
Originally Posted by Sooner24
