Delta Air Lines Flight 1141

Delta Air Lines Flight 1141

File:Delta1141.jpg
Accident
Date	August 31, 1988
Summary	Mechanical failure and pilot error; to set flaps
Site	Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at Euless, Tarrant County, Texas
Aircraft type	Boeing 727
Operator	Delta Air Lines
Registration	N473DAdisaster
Flight origin	Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Destination	Salt Lake City International Airport
Passengers	101
Crew	7
Fatalities	14
Injuries	76 (26 serious)
Survivors	94

Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 was a routine domestic passenger flight between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport, Salt Lake City, Utah. On August 31, 1988, the flight, operated by a Boeing 727, crashed upon takeoff from Dallas-Fort Worth, killing 14 of the 108 passengers and crew on board, and injuring 76 others.

Two cabin crew members (out of four) and 12 of the 101 passengers on board lost their lives: a total of 14 deaths. One passenger, who sat in 29C and had exited the aircraft through the aft break in the left side of the fuselage, attempted to re-enter the aircraft, received burn wounds, and died 11 days later.

Two flight crew members, two cabin crew members, and 22 passengers were seriously injured. One flight crew member and 49 passengers received minor injuries. 18 passengers received no injuries.

The flight crew consisted of 3: Captain Larry Davis, 48, First Officer Gary Kirkland, 37, and Flight Engineer Steven Judd, 31. The cabin crew consisted of 4 Flight Attendants: Dixie Dunn, 56, Diana George, 40, Rosilyn Marr, 43, and Mary O'Neill, 57. Flight Attendants Dixie Dunn and Rosilyn Marr and passengers Millar Browne, 55, Glen Campbell, 54, Jennifer Campbell, 44, Marian Fadal, 65, Barbara Morgan, 29, Patrick Morgan, 28, Tiffany Morgan, 14 months, Jerry Owens, 29, Robert Speer, 25, Philip Vogel, 69, and Thelma Morgan, 67, died in the crash.

The aircraft was a Boeing 727 Advanced, registration number N473DAdisaster. It was delivered in 1973, the 992nd Boeing 727 to be delivered.

Seating chart for Flight 1141 including occupant survival and route of egress if known

Two causes were primarily blamed for the accident: The crew had not ensured that the wing's flaps and slats were properly positioned for take-off, and the plane's takeoff warning horn, designed to alert the crew if the engines are throttled to take-off power without the flaps and slats being correctly set, was not operating correctly. The airplane did not gain sufficient speed to climb in a flaps-and-slats-retracted condition, causing a loss of lift and subsequent collision with equipment pertaining to the ILS (instrument landing system) at the departure end of the runway.

In an unexpected sequel to the investigation, the broadcast of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) by the media (demonstrating why the crew mistakenly mispositioned the flaps) provoked such an outcry by pilots that subsequent releases of CVR data are protected by law and are carefully vetted by the NTSB.

FAA regulations require a sterile cockpit before takeoff. This means there is to be no conversation outside of talk pertaining to the plane and pending flight. (For example, reviewing Pre-Takeoff checklists.) The CVR tapes recorded extensive talk about the CVR itself and how on Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crew discussions were recorded about the dating habits of the flight attendants.

See also

Similar accidents (crash shortly after takeoff due to misconfiguration of flaps/slats, failure of the improper takeoff configuration warning horn):

• Mandala Airlines Flight 091
• Spanair Flight 5022
• Northwest Airlines Flight 255
• Lufthansa Flight 540

External links

• NTSB report
• Air Disaster page on Flight 1141
• Cockpit Voice Recording from 1141
• The crash of Flight 1141/Crash resurrects memories of 1985