Remembering American Airlines Flight 191

AMERICAN AIRLINES B787-9 N832AA (MSN 40638)

 

American Airlines Flight 191 was a regular scheduled passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport (ORD/KORD) in Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) in Los Angeles, California. 

On the 25th of May 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 operating this flight was taking off from runway 32R when it crashed into the ground. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. At 14:59 hours local time Flight 191 taxied from the gate at O'Hare Airport. The weather at the time of departure was clear, and the reported surface wind was 020° at 22 kts. At 15:02:38, the flight was cleared for takeoff. 

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 fluid lines that lock the wing's leading-edge slats in place and damaged a 3-foot (1 metre) 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, with 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 degrees, before crashing in an open field by a trailer park near the end of the runway 50 seconds later. The engine separation was attributed to damage to the pylon structure holding the engine to the wing, caused by improper maintenance procedures used at American Airlines. (A pylon structure is a hardpoint located on an airframe designed to carry an external or internal load.) 

With 273 fatalities, it is still the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in the United States.

Aircraft Information

Airline: American Airlines

Code: AA/AAL

Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC10

Registration: N110AA

Serial Number: 46510 

Engines: Three General Electric CF6-6D

First Flew: 25/02/1972

Age: 7 Years 3 months

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