Dc10s4ever From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (7 years 9 hours ago) and read 4021 times:
27 years ago today at approx 3pm AA191 (N110AA) crashed just seconds after taking off from Chicago Ohare International. This crash led to the grounding of all DC10s for 30 days...
Boeing Nut From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (7 years 9 hours ago) and read 3937 times:
I remember exactly where I was when I heard this on the radio. My Mom had just picked me up from school and we were taking a back road home. I think I could almost track it down to the exact spot.
PanAm747 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4242 posts, RR: 10 Reply 7, posted (7 years 8 hours ago) and read 3863 times:
At least some good has come from this horrific accident.
Airlines have learned that they cannot service the plane in a manner in which the manufacturer does not advise.
What seemed to be a good idea at the time - removing the engine and pylon in one piece (as it required fewer connections) - was done against MD's advice. Later investigation showed that even microscopic movements could damage the connections, leading to cracks, and in the case of N110AA, total loss of the engine.
Never again will such a "short-cut", even one intended to reduce man-hours, be allowed.
However, the saddest thing of all to me is the fact that the plane could have remained airborne - if the knowledge had been with the flight crew that the plane was stalling, they could have increased air speed and kept flying. However, following proper techniques (at the time), they reduced speed in accordance with engine-fail procedures, and the plane stalled.
Can't blame the crew - they had no idea.
Can't blame the manufacturer - they disapproved of the repair technique.
Can't really blame the airline - it seemed a logical plan, only to have a horrifying unintended consequence.
At least it should never happen again.
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Dc10s4ever From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (7 years 8 hours ago) and read 3830 times:
Quoting PanAm747 (Reply 7): However, the saddest thing of all to me is the fact that the plane could have remained airborne - if the knowledge had been with the flight crew that the plane was stalling, they could have increased air speed and kept flying. However, following proper techniques (at the time), they reduced speed in accordance with engine-fail procedures, and the plane stalled.
Yes that is sad, had Captain Walter Lux known that the engine had fallen off, he could have kept his speed up instead of reducing to V2, thus causing the left wing to stall. If I remember, FO James Dillard was flying, and the FO side did NOT have a stick shaker for stall warning, only the CA side did. Again, had they felt the stall comming on possible something could have been done.
ORD From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 1370 posts, RR: 1 Reply 9, posted (7 years 8 hours ago) and read 3830 times:
With regard to the mechanic's suicide, here is an article from March 1981:
The widow of an American Airlines mechanic said yesterday that her husband committed suicide because of guilt over the 1979 DC10 crash in Chicago in which 273 people died.
"He is a casualty of that crash," Marilyn Marshall said. "He had very bad guilt feelings, and that crash gave him something to attach his feeling to."
Earl Russell Marshal, 47, a supervisor at American's Maintenance and Engineering Center in Tulsa, was found dead Wednesday at his home. A hose had been attached to the exhaust pipe of his car and run into a utility room.
Dr. Murray Engle, Wagoner County medical examiner, ruled that Marshall's death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning and was a suicide.
Marshall was a maintenance crew chief at the Tulsa center, where the DC10 had been inspected before the trip on which it crashed on May 26, 1979. He was, however, not directly involved in maintenance on the illfated plane.
He was one of about 150 American employees scheduled to have met with attorneys for McDonnell Douglas Corp. on Wednesday concerning the crash. It would have been the first time he had been asked officially to discuss the crash, his widow said.
ORD From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 1370 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (7 years 8 hours ago) and read 3805 times:
Quoting PanAm747 (Reply 7): Can't really blame the airline - it seemed a logical plan, only to have a horrifying unintended consequence.
Documents showed that American knew there were pylon cracks as a result of their maintenance procedure, but that they didn't think the cracks were important.
You can blame American for trying to cover up their responsibility. After the accident they conducted an internal investigation. When the findings showed their maintenance practices to be the cause, American destroyed all copies of the report in violation of a court order.
SMF757 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 31 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (7 years 7 hours ago) and read 3747 times:
IIRC - American actually made money off of the crash from the money they received from the hull loss insurance. It was either insured for more than it was worth, or they paid the full amount not counting depreciation. I believe this was also part of the documents that were destroyed shortly after the crash.
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