49 years ago today: America´s worst air disaster
May 25 1979: American Airlines Flight 191, a DC-10, crashes on takeoff from O'Hare (Chicago, US). All 271 aboard plus 2 on the ground die, the deadliest airliner crash in US, a figure only surpassed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
On take-off, the engine separated from the wing due to improper maintenance, damaging hydraulics, and causing loss of control, as detailed below.
Specifically, it was determined that during takeoff rotation, the No. 1 (left) engine separated from the left wing, flipped over the wing, and landed on the runway. The separation severed the hydraulic lines that lock the leading-edge slats in place and damaged a 3-foot (1 m) section of the left wing’s leading edge.
Aerodynamic forces then caused an uncommanded retraction of the outboard slats. As the aircraft climbed, the damaged left wing generated substantially less lift than the right wing, whose slats remained deployed, and the engine provided full takeoff thrust.
The resulting aerodynamic imbalance produced an abrupt left roll to a 112° bank angle—partially inverted—before the aircraft crashed in an open field adjacent to a trailer park near the runway’s end. The engine separation was caused by structural damage to the pylon, resulting from improper maintenance procedures at American Airlines, which are detailed in the thread below 1/6 ⬇️ 🧵
Video – Plane N´ Boom (animation from Mayday ACI series)
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