Not to be confused with Delta Air Lines Flight 191.
American Airlines Flight 191
Flight 191 after takeoff, missing its left engine, leaking fuel and hydraulic fluid
Accident
Date
May 25, 1979 (May 25, 1979)
Summary
Loss of control caused by engine detachment and hydraulic failure due to improper maintenance[1]
Site
Des Plaines, near O'Hare International Airport, Illinois, U.S. 42°0′35″N87°55′45″W / 42.00972°N 87.92917°W / 42.00972; -87.92917 (accident site)[1]: 2
Total fatalities
273
Aircraft
Aircraft type
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Operator
American Airlines
IATA flight No.
AA191
ICAO flight No.
AAL191
Call sign
AMERICAN 191
Registration
N110AA
Flight origin
O'Hare International Airport
Destination
Los Angeles International Airport
Occupants
271
Passengers
258
Crew
13
Fatalities
271
Survivors
0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities
2
Ground injuries
2
American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. On the afternoon of May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating this flight was taking off from runway 32R at O'Hare International when its left engine detached from the wing, causing a loss of control, and the aircraft crashed less than one mile (1.6 km) from the end of the runway. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. With 273 fatalities, it is the deadliest aviation accident[a] to have occurred in the United States.[2][3][4]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that as the aircraft was beginning its takeoff rotation, engine number one (the left engine) separated from the left wing, flipping over the top of the wing and landing on the runway. As the engine separated from the aircraft, it severed hydraulic lines that lock the wing's leading-edge slats in place and damaged a 3-foot (0.9 m) section of the left wing's leading edge. Aerodynamic forces acting on the wing resulted in an uncommanded retraction of the outboard slats. As the aircraft began to climb, the damaged left wing—with no engine—produced far less lift than the right wing, which had its slats still deployed and its engine providing full takeoff thrust. The disrupted and unbalanced aerodynamics of the aircraft caused it to roll abruptly to the left until it was partially inverted, reaching a bank angle of 112°, before crashing in an open field by a trailer park near the end of the runway. The engine separation was attributed to damage to the pylon structure holding the engine to the wing, caused by improper maintenance procedures at American Airlines.[5][6][7]
^ abAircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc. DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979 (PDF) (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. December 21, 1979. NTSB-AAR-79-17. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
^Wilson, Marc (May 26, 1979). "270 killed in Chicago crash, worst in U.S. history". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1A.
^"Worst U.S. plane crash kills 271". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. May 26, 1979. p. A1.
^Roberts, Charles (May 27, 1979). "Tape offers no clue in jet crash". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1A.
^"Airline gets blame for worst U.S. crash". Eugene Registr-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 21, 1979. p. 5A.
^"DC-10 crash blamed on airline maintenance procedures". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). (Washington Star). December 22, 1979. p. 5A.
^"Fatal Chicago crash is laid to airline". The Blade. (Toledo, Ohio). Associated Press. December 22, 1979. p. 1.
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