Delta Air Lines Flight 191 - Crash

Crash

As the aircraft flew over Louisiana, a thunderstorm formed directly in its path. The aircraft began its descent procedures over Louisiana, heading over the planned descent route. Captain Connors then recognized the forming thunderstorm and took action to change the plane's heading to avoid the turbulent weather.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, weather was also poor and an isolated thunderstorm had developed in the vicinity of the airport. The flight crew noticed the isolated storms ahead, but decided to proceed through them anyway, which resulted in the aircraft getting caught in a microburst.

At about 1,500 feet (460 m) above ground level, First Officer Price mentioned to Captain Connors that he saw lightning in one of the clouds ahead.

At about 800 feet (240 m) above ground level, the aircraft's airspeed increased significantly without crew intervention. Although the aircraft was supposed to land at 149 knots IAS (276 km/h), its airspeed instead increased to 173 knots IAS (320 km/h). Price tried to stabilize the aircraft's speed, but Connors had recognized the aircraft's speed increase as a sign of wind shear, and he warned Price to watch the speed. Connors told Price, "You're going to lose it all of a sudden ... there it is." Suddenly, the aircraft's airspeed dropped from 173 to 133 knots IAS (320 to 246 km/h), and Price pushed the throttles forward, giving temporary lift, but the speed then dropped. In addition to the sudden tailwind, the aircraft also experienced a downdraft of more than 30 feet per second. This downdraft would reverse itself several times over the final moments of the flight.

As Price struggled to maintain control of the aircraft through rapidly changing wind conditions, it was hit by a sudden sideward gust, causing a rapid roll to the right and an increase in the aircraft's angle of attack. Price attempted to regain control by pushing the aircraft's nose down to avoid a stall, but the severe wind conditions continued to force the airplane towards the ground. Its descent rate reached 5,000 feet per minute at 280 feet above ground level. Price pulled the aircraft's nose up forcefully just before impact as the captain called "TOGA" ("Take Off/Go Around"), reducing the airplane's descent rate to 10 feet per second at the initial touchdown.

The aircraft first struck the ground in a field about 6,300 feet north of the approach end of runway 17L and bounced back into the air. While crossing State Highway 114 it came down again, one of its engines striking a black 1971 Toyota Celica. The vehicle's occupant, William Hodge Mayberry, was killed instantly. The aircraft also struck a highway light pole near its wing root, igniting the wing fuel tank, before skidding onto the airfield in Irving, colliding with two 4-million US gallon (15,000 m³) water tanks and exploding into flames. Most of the survivors of Flight 191 were located in the rear smoking section of the aircraft, which broke free from the main fuselage before the aircraft hit the water tanks. Authorities took most of the survivors to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Two of the passengers who initially survived the impact died more than thirty days after the accident. On the ground, an employee of an airline who assisted in rescuing survivors was hospitalized overnight for chest and arm pains.

Delta Air Lines Flight 191 has the second-highest death toll of any aviation accident involving a Lockheed L-1011 anywhere in the world after Saudia Flight 163.