American Airlines Accidents and Incidents - 1970s

1970s

• December 28, 1970: American Airlines (Trans Caribbean Airways) 727-200; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands: The pilot made a hard landing which caused the aircraft to bounce, followed by a second touchdown which caused the main landing gear to fail. The aircraft overran the runway and hit an embankment. Two of the 46 passengers were killed, the crew survived.
• June 12, 1972: American Airlines Flight 96; the rear cargo door of a near-new McDonnell Douglas DC-10 en route from Los Angeles to New York with stops in Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI and Buffalo Niagara International Airport, NY opened in flight, causing an explosive decompression over Windsor, Ontario. Tail controls were damaged but it landed safely at Detroit. The cause was a design flaw of the DC-10 rear cargo door latching mechanism. (See Turkish Airlines Flight 981)
• April 27, 1976: American Airlines Flight 625, a Boeing 727, crashed on approach to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Overran short runway, pilot error cited.
• May 25, 1979: American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. During the takeoff roll, the left engine and pylon separated from the wing. The crew continued the takeoff, but wing damage due to the engine separation also damaged the aircraft hydraulic system and caused retraction of some flight control surfaces. The aircraft rolled and crashed shortly after takeoff. All 258 passengers and 13 crew were killed. Two people on the ground were also killed. This is the deadliest accident in the airline's history and the deadliest on U.S. soil.
• 15 November 1979: American Airlines Flight 444 en route from Chicago-Washington, DC; the Unabomber attempted to blow up the flight with a bomb smuggled into the cargo hold. The explosive failed to detonate, instead only giving off large quantities of smoke. There were no fatalities, and 12 passengers were treated for smoke inhalation.