Jerome D. Cook, 48, Phoenix, off-duty Northwest employe. Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on August 16, 1987, at about 8:46 p.m. EDT (00:46 UTC August 17), killing all six crew members and 148 of its 149 passengers. May 25, 1979, was one of the worst days in American aviation history. In one part of the hangar, working at a task that a medical examiners staff member said has devastated even veteran accident investigators, forensic pathologists and dentists studied remains of the victims, looking for clues that would lead to their identification. Northwest on Monday released the names of the crew on Flight 255 and the names of three off-duty employes who were killed aboard the plane. Fr. Okay position and hold northwest one eighty five. There was lots to celebrate: Reid Bushongs parents 50th wedding anniversary, the wedding of one of his nieces and the 30th reunion of his 1957 DeVilbiss High School class. On Tuesday evening, Joan Pontante laid a sketched picture of her brother, his wife and three kids on the black granite memorial. Maus had logged 20,859 flight hours during his career, including 1,359 hours on the MD-82. All Rights Reserved. In addition to Rhett Bushong, two women originally had been scheduled to fly to Orange County on Sunday aboard Continental Airlines Flight 657. When the airplane hit the eastbound I-94 overpass, it burst into flames. Three zero zero at one three and we'll be going to page avjet. Both engines were operating at or above takeoff power, according to the accident report. The aircraft was a twin-engined McDonnell Douglas MD-82, FAA tail number N312RC piloted by Captain John R. Maus, 57, and First Officer David J. Dodds, 35.Northwest 255 was carrying 149 passengers and 6 crew. Romulus firefighter Ron Thiede found the 4-year-old girl alive, still buckled in a booster seat strapped to her airlinechair. ((Sound similar to parking brake released)), Detroit tower (to Northwest Airlines Flight 1466). At this point the autothrottle is now engaged and the aircraft's computer is now in takeoff mode. [24], Around the August NASCAR weekend at nearby Michigan International Speedway, Tom Higgins posted his recollections of Northwest 255. As the sun set, about 200 people listened as. Even with time, however, the numbers do not tell the story. We were all very close.. Higgins, then of The Charlotte Observer, and fellow NASCAR beat reporters Steve Waid and Gary McCredie (of Grand National Scene) arrived at a hotel near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport awaiting a Monday morning flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, after finishing coverage of the Champion Spark Plug 400 that afternoon, and were witnesses to the plane crash. The aircraft crashed in the Detroit suburb of Romulus, killing all 154 people aboard except for a 4-year-old girl. The crash killed 156, including two people on the ground, the flight crew, and every passenger except one Cecilia Cechan. "This song is emotional and beautiful and powerful and it captures that night," he said. satu-satunya yang selamat adalah seorang gadis berusia 4 tahun, Cecelia Cichan, yang menderita . This lead to the plane's wing flaps failing to extend prior to takeoff. Northwest Airlines held a very strong position on pre-flight checklists. Steve drove his coworker to the airport. Craig had caught an earlier flight back to Phoenix, said Dee Murdy, who permanently moved to the familys Phoenix home in 2003. Welcome to Northwest Flight 255 Memorial Home | The Crash | In Loving Memory | Resources | Guestbook | eMail | Search View the Memorial Marker Copyright 2003 Flight 255 Memorial. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Flight attendant Michael L. Kahle, 34, LeSueur, Minn. [citation needed], 1987 plane crash of an MD-82 in Detroit, Michigan, USA, Aftermath of the Flight 255 crash: Aircraft debris field scattered along Middlebelt Road. After passengers disembarked the flight from Saginaw, a Northwest mechanic entered the cockpit to review the airplane and cabin maintenance logbooks prior to Captain Maus and First Officer Dodds taking over. Reports say she was traveling with her mom, dad, and brother. The flight crashed after takeoff in . She was covered in blood and had burns and broken bones, he said. [1]:3, At 20:42:11, Flight 255 was instructed to line up and wait at the beginning of runway 3C. Other than one training report during his probationary period, all of the airline's captains with whom Dodds had flown graded him as average or above average. 2023 www.detroitnews.com. Nicole Polecs, whoseaunt and uncle, Lisa Polec-Klaft and Don Klaft, died in the crash, said herlate grandmother formed a support group to help others affected by the tragedy and sees the anniversary gathering as an extension of those efforts. A Northwest representative calls a few times each day just to keep in contact with us and to work out the details of returning Rhetts body to them, Reid Bushong said Wednesday, speaking from Ohio. An investigation of their personal background and actions during the days before the accident also turned up normal. It was determined that the only circumstance that the plane would have been in dangerous proximity to obstacles at the end of the runway, was if the flaps and slats were completely retracted in its takeoff configuration. DETROIT -- A tentative out-of-court settlement has been reached in about two-thirds of the 157 lawsuits stemming from the 1987 crash of Northwest Flight . Erica Thomsen, 61, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Ernest John Mathews, 38, Sterling Heights, Mich. Eric Mazade, 30, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. Suzanne Morris, 35. Other pilots who had recently flown with Dodds later described his performance At 20:35:43, the ground controller instructed to use taxiway C and switch to frequency 119.45MHz to communicate with another controller. The report claims the flight crew failed to use the taxi checklist, leading to the aircrafts flaps and slats not being properly extended before takeoff. The CVR provided evidence of the flight crew's omission of the taxi checklist. It was still operated by MD-82 alongside DC-9 and Boeing 727 but were replaced by Boeing 757 and Airbus A320 in the 1990s. / CW50 Detroit. I looked down and there was just smoldering sheet metal, Rick says. 2. Witnesses reported that the plane was at a 90-degree left wing down position when it struck a roof. U.S. District Judge Julian A. Cook . Kirk Murdy was among the 156 people who died in the crash, including six crew members, 148 passengers and two people on the ground on Aug. 16, 1987. 5. J. Cathie Corona, 44, St. Clair Shores, Mich. Lewis Dresch, 45, Sterling Heights, Mich. Ernest John Mathews, 38, Sterling Heights, Mich. Eric Mazade, 30, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. Suzanne Morris, 35, Federal Way, Wash., off-duty Northwest flight attendant. "[1]:53. Flight 255 is the seventh deadliest plane crash in United States history, and is the deadliest aviation disaster to have a sole survivor. Northwest Airlines Flight 255 ATC recording, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 CVR recording, MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, List of aircraft accidents and incidents resulting in at least 50 fatalities, List of sole survivors of airline accidents or incidents, "Aircraft Accident Report, Northwest Airlines, Inc. McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82, N312RC, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan, August 16, 1987", "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) N312RC Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW)", "United States of America air safety profile", "Ten worst aircraft accidents with lone survivors", "Picture of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (DC-9-82) aircraft", "Crash Survivor's Psychic Pain May Be the Hardest to Heal", "4-YEAR-OLD CECILIA AWAKENS, ASKS FOR MOTHER, THEN DOLL", "Mother May Not Have Saved Lone Survivor of Plane Crash", "Flight 255: Tragedy Lingers After 20 Years", "Sole Survivor Of Metro Airport Crash Breaks Her Silence", "Northwest Airlines (NW) #261 FlightAware", "Flight Finder Detroit Metro Wayne Co (KDTW) - Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl (KPHX) FlightAware", "A mother's long journey follows son's final flight", "Memorial held for victims of 1987 Flight 255 plane crash", "30 years later: Flight 255 bonds victims' families", "Sole Survivor Of Plane Crash Breaks Silence", "Survivor of 1987 Mich. plane crash breaks silence", "1987 Plane Crash: 'Sole Survivor' Cecelia Crocker Breaks Silence On Northwest Airlines Flight 255 Accident", "Tom Higgins: The Wreaths of Middlebelt Road", Pre-crash photos of N312RC on Airliners.net, Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17, 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northwest_Airlines_Flight_255&oldid=1130000402, Airliner accidents and incidents in Michigan, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1987, Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-82, Northwest Airlines accidents and incidents, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by stalls, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, # = Expletive deleted; * = Unintelligible word; () = Questionable text; (()) = Commentary; - = Break in continuity; Shading = Radio communication. "When we pulled up, I didn'tthink we would find anybody," said Thiede, who still works for the Romulus Fire Department. The true scope of the tragedy is revealed in the flight manifest. Carl A. Scherer, 58, Clarence Center, N.Y. Jay Strausbaugh, 29, Sterling Heights, Mich. Erica Thomsen, 61, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Phyllis A. Zigler, 32, Gasport, N.Y. ON THE GROUND. Northwest fourteen sixty six metro tower traffic your following is a very short final runway three left cleared to land winds three zero zero at one three. More than 30 of the passengers were under the age of 25; two 12-year-olds were unaccompanied minors. J. Cathie Corona, 44, St. Clair Shores, Mich. Lewis Dresch, 45, Sterling Heights, Mich. Peter Frank, age and hometown unavailable. Staff writer Mark Landsbaum, in Orange County, contributed to this story. Its been 35 years since Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed onto I-94, killing all but one passenger. It happened at 8:46 p.m. They were changed to Flights 260 and 261 beginning in September 1987 until the company merged with Delta Air Lines in early 2010. She spoke to the media about her experience for the first time in 2011.[12][13]. [1]:22 The impact caused the left wing to start disintegrating and catch fire. ((Sound of secondary stall recognition aural warning starts)). Which of course as a first responder is something that's going to get your very immediate attention," said Northwest Flight 255 First Responder Andy Graves. Cecelia Cichan was just four years old when she became the sole survivor of doomed Northwest Airlines Flight 255. . She then locked arms with two other women brought together by the tragedy and gazed at the 156 names engraved on the memorial as the sun beamed on them. Thirty minutes before the accident, other pilots reported wind shear alerts near Detroit Metro. Exploring the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, immediately after takeoff at Detroit Metro Airport on August 16, 1987. Detroit tower (to Northwest Airlines Flight 255). 3. I have never seen such complete destruction, he said. However, the airline will not release a passenger list in order to. More than 30 of the passengers were under 25. Many attendees had seen . The National Transportation Safety Board later determined the planes crew failed to use a checklist to ensure that wing flaps and slats were extended. Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft, bound for Phoenix, Arizona, attempted to takeoff from Minneapolis-Saint Paul . [19], On August 16, 2012, the 25th anniversary of the crash, another memorial service was held at the crash site. Two motorists on Middlebelt Road were also killed. She lost her parents and her 6-year-old brother. So over the years, hes used a website and social media to keep everyone connected. The aircraft continued to slide on the road, hitting multiple rental cars, a railroad embankment, and three occupied vehicles before bursting into flames as it hit a railroad and an overpass on I-94. The flight's first officer, David J Dodds, had logged more than 8,000 hours of flying in his career. Within minutes, the plane began to roll from side to side just. [1]:1 The crew read out the before-start checklist, and started the engines at 20:33:04. First Officer Dodds had to refer to the companys Runway Takeoff Weight Chart Manual. We can talk about it. The autothrottle system failing to engage was the first red flag, with the stall warning being the second. Two people on. Le dimanche 26 janvier 2020, l'hlicoptre Sikorsky S-76 de Kobe Bryant s'crase prs de Calabasas, en Californie (tats-Unis).Les neuf occupants de l'appareil sont tus sur le coup. [1]:6, The flight's first officer was 35-year-old David J. Dodds, from Galena, Illinois. Thirty years ago, as she departed Detroit Metropolitan Airport after dropping off her 22-year-old son, Kirk, Murdy witnessed Northwest Airlines Flight 255 come crashing down into a nearby building before exploding. February 10, 2020 / 10:23 PM The Safety Board concluded that the airplane had not encountered a wind shear and directed its investigation elsewhere. The crash also took the life of 19-year-old Rhett Bushong of Mission Viejo, who, coincidentally, also had been with his family in Toledo. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident at the time in the United States. All of the people who passed away they live on through those who memorialize them, said Polec, who lives in New York. As mentioned previously, basically, all of this technical mumbo jumbo just means that as long as the pilots set their flaps to 11 degrees, their plane would safely get off the ground even with their high takeoff weight and short runway.. . Please enter valid email address to continue. Hidi was among at least 154 passengers killed Sunday night when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed on takeoff from Detroits Metropolitan Airport. [1]:17, At 20:34:40, the pushback tug was disconnected from the aircraft and at 20:34:50, the controller cleared Flight 255 to taxi to runway number 3C (center). It was just one of those mothers instincts.. However, the airline has repeatedly said it will not release a passenger list. Its sad, but you learn to cope with it.. The airline has been extremely protective of the families privacy, even taking the highly unusual step of withholding the list of those who were on the flight. Welcome to 16 August 1987, nine days before I was born.It's nearly 8:30 p.m., and it's not a good time to be an airplane.If you tune into Detroit's CBS affiliate right now (VHF Channel 4, if you're a time traveler), you'll catch Murder, She Wrote right at my favorite part: the investigative hijinks. First Officer Dodds called rotate at 8:45 and a second later, the stall warning stick shaker activated and continued operating until the recording ended. "You think that it would, but it doesn't," Schaffer-Smith says, holding back tears. The planes takeoff configuration, the pre-takeoff checklists, and the decisions leading up to the plane leaving the ground. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. The flight was headed to California when it left the gate in Detroit. [1]:22,26 The plane rolled 90 to the left, striking the roof of an Avis Car Rental building. In the process of taxiing, Flight 255 missed the required turn, so Dodds contacted the ground controller and received instructions on how to proceed to runway 3C, and also to switch to 119.45MHz. Aside from one training report during his early probationary period, captains that flew with him would describe his performance as average or above. Thirty years ago today, a flight outbound from Detroit Metro Airport on its way to Phoenix never reached its destination. While the plane was taxiing, the pilots got a little lost on their way to the runway. More than 30 of the passengers were under 25. Justin Behnke was 7 when his mother died in the crash. AP Photo Flowers and pictures are shown at the memorial Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Romulus, Mich. to mark the 25th anniversary of the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 near Detroit . Also, a marker stone is located at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford, MI, in memory of the 14 GM employees and seven family members who were killed in the crash. Immediately after the runway change message, he had to verify runway 3C use with the takeoff performance chart. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. The reason for the absence of electrical power could not be determined. Family and friends of Flight 255 victims gathered at the memorial site for a ceremony at 8 p.m. Wednesday to honor the lives of their loved ones. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. [1]:6, The flight crew began August 16, 1987, by operating the incident aircraft as Northwest Flight 750 from MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport, flying to MBS International Airport in Saginaw, Michigan. Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. On August 16, 1987, Northwest Flight 255 crashed shortly after taking off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing 156 people. including Northwest Airlines flight 255 at Detroit, Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, Continental Airlines flight 1713 in Denver, United Airlines flight 811 over the Pacific Ocean, United Airlines . That fireball was caused by the impact of the DC-9 jet crashing onto Middlebelt Road. About ten minutes before the flight was due to depart the gate, a company transportation agent brought the flight release package to the airplane. Relatives took her in, protecting her from the media throughout her childhood. "We turned on the TV, and sure enough, there's a plane and flames on the freeway, Behnke says. Although 156 people perished in the crash, Graves learned the next day, of a miracle. The devastation claimed the lives of six crew members and 148 passengers, along with two people on the ground. 1. The last-minute change to the flights runway was a decision based on the tower supervisors judgment that the wind direction was changing from southwest to northwest.

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