Aftermath of the Flight 255 crash: Aircraft debris field scattered along Middlebelt Road. The near bridge is the Norfolk Southern railroad, and the far bridges are the I-94 freeway.
Accident
Date
August 16, 1987
Summary
Improper take-off configuration[1]
Site
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan, United States 42°14′24″N83°19′40″W / 42.2400°N 83.3277°W / 42.2400; -83.3277
Total fatalities
156
Total injuries
6
Aircraft
Aircraft type
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Operator
Northwest Airlines
IATA flight No.
NW255
ICAO flight No.
NWA255
Call sign
NORTHWEST 255
Registration
N312RC[2]
Flight origin
MBS International Airport, Saginaw, Michigan, United States
1st stopover
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan, United States
Last stopover
Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Destination
John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California, United States
Occupants
155
Passengers
149
Crew
6
Fatalities
154
Injuries
1
Survivors
1
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities
2
Ground injuries
5
On August 16, 1987 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, about 8:46 pm EDT (00:46 UTC August 17), resulting in the deaths of all six crew members and 148 of the 149 passengers, along with two people on the ground. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident at the time in the United States.[3][4] It is also the deadliest aviation accident to have a sole survivor,[5] the deadliest plane crash in the history of the state of Michigan,[6] and the worst crash in the history of Northwest Airlines.
^Cite error: The named reference AAR-88-05 Final Report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"FAA Registry (N312RC)". Federal Aviation Administration.
^"Accident Description: Northwest Airlines Flight 255". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. August 16, 1987. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
^Ranter, Harro. "United States of America air safety profile". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
^"Ten worst aircraft accidents with lone survivors". ASN News. Flight Safety Foundation. May 16, 2010. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^"Michigan marks 36 years since tragic Northwest Flight 255 crash in Romulus". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
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