Delta Air Lines Flight 191

Information about Delta Air Lines Flight 191

Delta Air Lines Flight 191
Summary
Date  August 2, 1985
Cause  Microburst-induced Wind shear
Site  Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Texas
Origin  Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Destination  Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Fatalities  135 (1 on the ground)
Injuries  27
Aircraft
 Aircraft type  Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar
Operator  Delta Air Lines
Tail number  N726DA
Passengers  152
Crew  11
Survivors  29


Delta Air Lines Flight 191 was an airline service from Fort Lauderdale, Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, bound for Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, by way of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. On the afternoon of August 2, 1985, Delta Air Lines flight 191 crashed while on approach to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, killing 8 of 11 crew members and 128 of the 152 passengers on board and one person on the ground: a total of 135 deaths. This accident is one of the few commercial air crashes in which the meteorological phenomenon known as microburst-induced wind shear was a direct contributing factor.

Aircraft

The airplane used on that day was N726DA, a Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar, a workhorse in Delta's fleet at the time. The flight was piloted by Captain Edward Conners, First Officer Rudolph Price and Second Officer Nick Nassick.

Crash

As the aircraft flew over Louisiana, a thunderstorm formed directly in its path. The aircraft began its descent procedures over Louisiana, heading over the planned descent route. Captain Conners then recognized the forming thunderstorm and took action to change the plane's heading to avoid the turbulent weather.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, weather was also poor and an updraft formed as a result of a powerful thunderstorm. Because the storm clouds were white, the storm was almost impossible to detect for Flight 191's crew.

At about 1500 feet above ground level (460 m), First Officer Price reported seeing lightning in one of the clouds ahead.

At 800 feet (240 m) above ground level, the aircraft airspeed accelerated without crew intervention. Although it was supposed to land at 149 knots IAS (276 km/h), it accelerated instead to 173 knots IAS (320 km/h). Price tried to stabilize the aircraft's speed, but Conners had recognized the aircraft's speed increase as a sign of wind shear, and he warned Price to watch the speed. Suddenly, the airspeed dropped from 173 to 133 knots IAS (320 to 246 km/h), and Price pushed the throttles forward, giving temporary lift. The airspeed then suddenly dropped to 119 knots IAS (220 km/h); on the cockpit voice recording Conners can be heard saying "Hang on to the son of a bitch!"

When Price tried to avoid a stall by pushing the nose down, the aircraft's vertical speed increased to 1,700 ft/min (520 m/min) before it came into contact with the ground.

Delta Flight 191 first impacted the ground on a field about 6,300 feet north of the approach end of runway 17L and bounced back into the air, then, while crossing State Highway 114, it came down again on top of a vehicle, killing its occupant. The aircraft skidded onto the airfield, collided with two 4-million US gallon (15,000 m³) water tanks at a speed of 220 knots, and exploded into flames. Most of the survivors of Flight 191 were located in the rear section of the aircraft which broke free from the main fuselage before the aircraft hit the water tanks.

Investigation

After a lengthy investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board deemed the cause of the crash to be attributable to pilot error, combined with extreme weather phenomena associated with microburst-induced wind shear.[1]

The crash of Delta Flight 191 was later the subject of a television movie called Fire and Rain.

Passengers

  • Don Estridge, known to the world as the father of the IBM PC, was killed aboard this flight along with much of the IBM executive team responsible for that project. The loss arguably put IBM at a competitive disadvantage against competitors such as Compaq. Since that accident, IBM's corporate travel policy has prohibited more than two company executives travelling on the same commercial airline flight.

See also

References

External links

Coordinates:
August 2 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1982 1983 1984 - 1985 - 1986 1987 1988

Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar).
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microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to but distinguishable from tornadoes which generally have convergent damage.
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Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW, FAA LID: DFW) is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth,[3] and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas.
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State of Texas

Flag of Texas Seal
Nickname(s): Lone Star State
Motto(s): Friendship.
Before Statehood Known as
The Republic of Texas

Official language(s) No official language

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Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (IATA: FLL, ICAO: KFLL, FAA LID: FLL) is a public airport located in Dania Beach, three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Fort Lauderdale, a city in Broward County, Florida,
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Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW, FAA LID: DFW) is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth,[3] and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas.
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airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit.
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City of Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale

Seal
Nickname: Venice of America

Coordinates:
Country United States
State Florida
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Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (IATA: FLL, ICAO: KFLL, FAA LID: FLL) is a public airport located in Dania Beach, three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Fort Lauderdale, a city in Broward County, Florida,
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Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX), is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, United States. It is often referred to by its airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually.
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City of Los Angeles

Flag
Seal
Nickname: The City of Angels, L.A.
Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California
Coordinates:
State
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Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW, FAA LID: DFW) is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth,[3] and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas.
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August 2 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1982 1983 1984 - 1985 - 1986 1987 1988

Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar).
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DL ICAO
DAL Callsign
DELTA
Founded 1928 (as Delta Air Service)
Hubs Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Salt Lake City International Airport
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
John F.
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Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW, FAA LID: DFW) is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth,[3] and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas.
..... Click the link for more information.
microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to but distinguishable from tornadoes which generally have convergent damage.
..... Click the link for more information.
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Wind shear can be broken down into vertical and horizontal components, with horizontal wind shear seen across
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Type Wide-body aircraft
Manufacturer Lockheed-California Co.
Maiden flight 1970-11-16
Introduction 1972-04-26
Primary users Royal Air Force
ATA Airlines
Globe Jet Airlines
Sky Gate International Aviation
Produced
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DL ICAO
DAL Callsign
DELTA
Founded 1928 (as Delta Air Service)
Hubs Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Salt Lake City International Airport
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
John F.
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thunderstorm, also called an electrical storm or lightning storm, is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its attendant thunder produced from a cumulonimbus cloud.
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An updraft or downdraft (air pocket) is the vertical movement of air as a weather related phenomenon. Commonly, one of two forces causes the air to move. Localized regions of warm or cool air will exhibit vertical movement.
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knot is a unit of speed. The abbreviation preferred by maritime authorities in the USA[1], and Canada [2], as well as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures is kn.
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Indicated airspeed (IAS) is the airspeed read directly from the airspeed indicator on an aircraft, driven by the pitot-static system. IAS is directly related to calibrated airspeed (CAS), but includes instrument errors and position error.
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Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Wind shear can be broken down into vertical and horizontal components, with horizontal wind shear seen across
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Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flightdeck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents.
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State Highway 114

194.45[1] mi (312.92 km)
by 1933

NM 114

US 385
US 62/US 82
US 84
I-27/US 87
US 83
US 183/US 277/US 283
US 281
US 380
US 81/US 287
I 35W
US 377

SH 183 at Irving


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National Transportation
Safety Board

Official seal and emblem
Agency overview
Formed April 1, 1967
Preceding Agency Civil Aeronautics Board

Jurisdiction Federal government of the United States

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