American Airlines Flight 191
N110AA in its final moments, rolled over and plummeting towards the ground. The mist trail emanating from the left wing is leaking fuel and hydraulic fluid.
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 25, 1979 |
| Summary | Engine detachment and loss of control |
| Site | Des Plaines, Illinois, United States (Near O'Hare International airport) |
| Passengers | 258 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Fatalities | 273 (all on board and 2 on the ground) |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 6 (on the ground) |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 |
| Operator | American Airlines |
| Registration | N110AA |
| Flight origin | O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois |
| Destination | Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California |
American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight operated by American Airlines from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 used for this flight on May 25, 1979, crashed moments after takeoff from Chicago. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in the United States.
Investigators found that as the jet was beginning its takeoff rotation, engine number one, on the left wing, separated and flipped over the top of the wing. As the engine separated from the aircraft it severed hydraulic lines that locked the wing's leading edge slats in place and damaged a three-foot 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 jet began to climb, the damaged left wing, with no engine, produced far less lift (stalled) than the right wing, with its slats still deployed and its engine running at full takeoff speed. The extremely 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. The engine separation was attributed to damage to the pylon structure holding the engine to the wing, caused by faulty maintenance procedures at American Airlines.
While maintenance issues and not the actual design of the aircraft were ultimately found responsible for the crash, the accident and subsequent grounding of all DC-10s by the Federal Aviation Administration added to an already unfavorable reputation of the DC-10 aircraft in the eyes of the public, caused by several other incidents and accidents involving the type. The investigation also revealed other DC-10s with damage caused by the same faulty maintenance procedure. The faulty procedure was banned, and the aircraft type went on to have a long career as a passenger and cargo aircraft.
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