— 279 History.com. This Day in History, 25 May 1979. “DC-10 Crashes, Killing All Aboard”[1]

— 275 Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFMP, 3/1, March 1982.

— 275 FEMA. Principal Threats Facing Communities and Local [EM]… 1993, p. 70. [2]

— 275 OJP DOJ. Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual: 2^nd Ed. (Append. D).[3]

— 273 Associated Press, “Air Crashes In the U.S. Since 1979,” July 20, 1989

–<273 Associated Press, “Some of the Deadliest Plane Crashes on Takeoff,” August, 20, 2008.

— 273 Chicago Tribune (Cory Franklin). “Commentary: American Airlines Flight…” 5-24-2015.[4]

— 273 NTSB. Aircraft Accident Rpt. American Airlines, Inc…Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979.

— 273 Sanders. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. 2002, p. 176.

— 273 Smith. “The Chicago DC-10 disaster, 25 May 1979.” P.17, Catastrophes and Disasters.[5]

Narrative Information

FEMA: “This accident occurred on May 25, 1979, at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport when an American Airlines DC-10 lost its left engine upon take-off and crashed seconds later, killing all 272 people aboard and 3 on the ground.” (FEMA. Principal Threats, 1993, p. 70.)

History.com: “Almost 300 people are killed on this day in 1979 when an American Airlines flight crashes and explodes after losing one engine just after takeoff.

“It was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend in 1979 when 277 passengers[6] filled Flight 191 from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport bound for Los Angeles. The DC-10 jet took off normally but after rising to only 400 feet, stalled and then rolled to the left. The plane quickly plunged, crashing into Ravenswood Airport, which had been abandoned and was no longer in use.

“The plane, loaded with fuel, exploded on impact, killing all 277 people on board instantly. The heat from the fire was so intense that firefighters could not approach the crash for close to an hour. The crash also caused a fire at a nearby mobile-home park and killed two bystanders on the ground. A Standard Oil gas storage facility was also nearly hit.

“Following this crash, all DC-10s in the United States were impounded and grounded by judicial order because there was no immediate determination as to the cause of the crash and it was feared that it could have been caused by a problem common to the jet type. Ultimately, it was found that the left pylon, which supported the turbofan engine, came loose and took out the hydraulic lines. The left wing slats then retracted and the plane could not lift off properly. The American Airlines maintenance crew was found to be at fault–they had failed to follow the proper procedures when removing the engine and pylon during repairs and maintenance.” (History.com. This Day in History, May 25, 1979. “DC-10 Crashes, Killing All Aboard.”)

NTSB: “Synopsis

“About 1504 c.d.t., May 25, 1979, American Airlines, Inc., Flight 191, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-1- aircraft, crashed into an open field just short of a trailer park about 4,600 ft northwest of the departure end of runway 32R at Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Illinois.

“Flight 191 was taking off from runway 32H. The weather was clear and the visibility was 15 miles. During the takeoff rotation, the left engine and pylon assembly and about 3 ft of the leading edge of the left wing separated from the aircraft and fell to the runway. Flight 191 continued to climb to about 325 ft above the ground and then began to roll to the left. The aircraft continued to roll to the left until the wings were past the vertical position, and during the roll, the aircraft’s nose pitched down below the horizon.

“Flight 191 crashed into the open field and the wreckage scattered into an adjacent trailer park. The aircraft was destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire. Two hundred and seventy-one persons on board Flight 191 were killed; two persons on the ground were killed, and two others were injured. An old aircraft hangar, several automobiles, and a mobile home were destroyed.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the asymmetrical stall and the ensuing roll of the aircraft because of the uncommanded retraction of the left wing outboard leading edge slats and the loss of stall warning and slat disagreement indication systems resulting from maintenance-induced damage leading to the separation of the No. 1 engine and pylon assembly at a critical point during takeoff. The separation resulted from damage by improper maintenance procedures which led to failure of the pylon structure.

“Contributing to the cause of the accident were the vulnerability of the design of the pylon attach points to maintenance damage; the vulnerability of the design of the leading edge slat system to the damage which produced asymmetry; deficiencies in Federal Aviation Administration surveillance and reporting systems which failed to detect and prevent the use of improper maintenance procedures; deficiencies in the practices and communications among the operators, the manufacturer, and the FAA which failed to determine and disseminate the particulars regarding previous maintenance damage incidents; and the intolerance of prescribed operational procedures to this unique emergency.” (NTSB. American Air…Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979)

Sources

Associated Press. “Air Crashes In the U.S. Since 1979.” 7-20-1989. Accessed 6-29-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5DD1E39F933A15754C0A96F948260&sec=&spon

Associated Press. “Some of the Deadliest Plane Crashes on Takeoff.” 8-20-2008. Accessed 6-29-2017 at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-20-1787172586_x.htm

Chicago Tribune (Cory Franklin). “Commentary: American Airlines Flight 191 still haunts.” 5-24-2015. Accessed 9-4-2016 at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-american-airlines-ohare-crash-flight-191-hospital-perspec-0525-jm-20150522-story.html

Eckert, William G. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1982, Table 1.

Federal Emergency Management Agency. Principal Threats Facing Communities and Local Emergency Management Coordinators: A Report to the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. Washington, DC: FEMA, April 1993.

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, May 25, 1979. “DC-10 Crashes, Killing All Aboard.” Accessed 12/7/2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=05/25&categoryId=disaster Double-checked this link on 6-29-2017 and found it to be inoperative.

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. American Airlines, Inc. DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979. Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted December 21, 1979, 103 pages. Accessed 6-29-2017 at: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR79-17.pdf#page=81

Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice. Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual: Second Edition (Appendix D: Catastrophes Used as Reference Points in Training Curricula). Washington, DC: OJP, U.S. Department of Justice. Accessed at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/crt/pdftxt/appendd.txt Double-checked this URL on 6-29-2017 and found it to be inoperative.

Sanders, D.E.A. (Chair), et al. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. GIRO, 2002, 261 pgs. At: http://www.actuaries.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/18729/Sanders.pdf

[1] Not used in that we take the NTSB report to be definitive.

[2] Not used in that we take the NTSB report to be definitive.

[3] Not used in that we take the NTSB report to be definitive.

[4] “…all 271 people on the plane and two people on the ground were killed instantly.”

[5] 258 passengers, 13 crew (all on the plane died) and two on the ground.

[6] There were 358 passengers and 13 crewmembers, all of whom died, for a total of 271 on the plane.

1979 — May 25, American Airlines 191 takeoff crash, O’Hare Int. Airport, Chicago IL–273