Sfty

Delta Flight 191 Emergency Response

Abstract

On August 2, 1985 Delta Flight 191 was en-route from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Dallas DFW on its way to Las Angeles. On board the Lockheed L-1011-385-1 were a total of 167 passengers and crewmembers. (Kilroy, n.d.) Little did the passengers of Flight 191 know that they were about to be part of an event that would forever alter the aviation communities safety planning and reaction process. The crash of Delta Flight 191 influenced how pilots communicated with each other, weather data interpretation, and how rescue crews would respond to future events. (Torbenson, 2010)

August 2, 1985

On August 2, 1985 Delta Flight 191 was en-route to Dallas DFW on its way to Las Angeles. At the same time that the aircraft was approaching DFW a large thunderstorm was developing over the airfield. The air traffic controller at DFW instructed Flight 191 to turn to an approach heading of 290 and join the Blue Ridge 010 radial on an inbound course. Cpt. Edwards who was the 14,000 hour pilot in command of Flight 191 decided instead to turn to an initial heading of 255 to avoid what appeared to be a storm cell. (Kilroy, n.d.)

Meanwhile the meteorologist at DFW decided to leave early for lunch due to the lack of activity on the radar scopes. What the meteorologist failed to notice was the building storm cell at the approach end of runway 17L. This storm cell would ultimately be the cause of Flight 191’s crash. At 1400 feet the First Officer aboard Flight 191 noticed lightning emitting from the clouds directly in front of the aircraft. As the aircraft continued to descend to 800 Flight 191 began to speed up rapidly from 149 to 173 knots. The crew failed to notice this as the first signs of wind shear. The aircraft’s speed suddenly dropped to 133 knots. Unfortunately the crew’s efforts to regain control of the aircraft failed again and the speed continued to drop to 119 knots. The aircraft’s vertical speed increased to 1700 feet per...