Summary
- Flight 1141 crashed due to improper take-off configuration, leading to a deadly fire within 22 seconds.
- Aircraft had missed flap and slat extensions, causing engine compressor surges and lack of speed.
- Improper conversation in the co*ckpit distracted the crew, contributing to take-off configuration error.
It was Wednesday, August 31, 1988. Delta Air Lines flight 1141 was preparing to leave Dallas Fort Worth, Texas bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. The Boeing 727-200 had 101 passengers and seven crew onboard.
The crew
In the flight deck were Captain Larry Davis, first officer Wilson Kirkland and flight engineer Steven Judd. Working in the cabin were flight attendants Dixie Dunn, Diana George, Roslyn Marr and Mary O'Neill.
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Preparing for the flight
Earlier that day, flight 1141 had departed from Jackson Municipal Airport in Mississippi. The flight was uneventful and arrived in Dallas Forth Worth at 07:38. The flight attendants welcomed the new passengers onboard and helped them stow their luggage safely.
As they moved away from the stand, they armed their doors, manually attaching the slide to the door frame. This would ensure that the door was armed, in case of an emergency.
The Boeing 727 left the gate at 08:30 and Dixie, Roslyn, Diana and Mary, secured the cabin ready for take-off. They ensured the passengers had their seatbelts on and everything was safely stowed away. They would then take their jump seats for take-off, but there was a delay.
The ground controller had cleared the aircraft to taxi to runway 18L but told them to line up and hold for one minute. This was due to possible wake turbulence from an American Airlines DC-10 that was due to take-off. They asked to hold for two minutes and this was accepted. The delays continued and led to a 25-minute taxi time.
Deadly discussions
The flight crew commented on the lengthy waiting time and Dixie was in the flight deck chatting with the crew, the first officer being the most vocal. He grimly commented about what they should say on the CVR if the aircraft crashed.
He mentioned Continental Airlines flight 1713, a recent accident, and said that they should talk about the dating habits of flight attendants. They also talked about the upcoming presidential election, drinks mixes and other topics.
"In case we crash, then the media would have some kind of juicy tidbit..."
First officer to flight attendant Dixie, prior to take-off
The captain only commented once or twice and the flight engineer remained silent. They spoke jovially for a total of seven minutes and forty-two seconds, until the flight engineer made an announcement for the flight attendants to prepare for take-off, prompting Dixie to leave the co*ckpit.
What happened next?
The aircraft was cleared for take-off. The initial roll was normal until the main wheels left the ground. Suddenly, there were two loud bangs, the aircraft rolled violently to the right and the right wing dropped. The tail made contact with the runway briefly and just moments later the right wingtip hit the ground.
The aircraft was having compressor surges in the engines and was struggling to stabilize or gain altitude. According to witnesses, the aircraft seemed to be out of control.
Beyond the runway, the right wing struck the instrument landing system localizer antenna. This set the wing on fire and the aircraft began to rapidly disintegrate whilst still in flight.
The aircraft struck the ground, slid sideways and left an 800-foot trail of wreckage, baggage and debris. Engine number three separated. The fire quickly spread due to the full tanks of jet fuel and engulfed the rear of the aircraft. The flight time had been just 22 seconds.
"You heard the thing crumple, so you knew you were going to crash the whole time. You were just looking for a way to get out of the plane. You're hoping you are not going to die."
Passenger flight 1141 to the Deseret News.
The aftermath
The fire was on the right side of the aircraft, which hampered evacuation efforts. Most were evacuated through breaks in the fuselage in the mid and forward cabin and the exits on the left side of the aircraft.
The left side exit at the rear of the aircraft was jammed shut and the door was armed but could not be opened. Ten flight attendants were traveling as passengers that day, so it may have sped up the evacuation process.
There was thick smoke in the galley already choking them and limited visibility and people would have started to panic. It is thought that the passengers were pushing against Dixie in order to get out, who was trying to open the jammed door. The fire services arrived within minutes and the last passenger who survived had left the aircraft.
Ten bodies were found in the rear galley area in a queue formation. Dixie could not open the door although it was clear that she had tried. The steep angle of the collapsed cabin floor would have made it difficult to get to the door without falling towards it.
"The rear section where the flight attendants sit was all twisted and burned. I saw several twisted bodies back there."
Off-duty firefighter at the scene to The Deseret News.
Fatalities and survivors
The accident resulted in 14 fatalities, including flight attendants Dixie and Roslyn. There were 94 survivors, of which 76 were injured. Those fatalities were found to have died of smoke inhalation. One man exited the aircraft but then went back for his wife and family but suffered severe burns and died 11 days later in hospital.
The captain, first officer and flight attendants were seriously injured, and the flight engineer and remaining passengers had minor injuries. It is thought that even on impact, everyone would have survived, it was the deadly fire that killed them.
" We were just terrified. We jumped on the wing, but it looked like we were jumping into a pit of fire."
Passenger flight 1141 to Lewiston Morning Tribune
Photo: NTSB | Wikimedia Commons
Cause and effect
The NTSB report found that the aircraft could only have attempted to take off without flaps or slats extended to take-off configuration. The captain pulled back on the control column to keep the nose raised but this created turbulence over the engines and caused the compressor surges.
The aircraft failed to gain speed due to drag caused by the high angle of attack. On the CVR, the flight crew said that the flaps were deployed but no lever sound was recorded, so it seemed that they failed to deploy the flaps and slats.
The aircraft's take-off warning system failed to alert them to the problem as the switch had been modified to prevent activation whilst taxi-ing.
Read more: Swissair 111 - A Cabin Crew Perspective
The co*ckpit should have been 'sterile' before take-off, although this was quite a new company procedure. Crew Resource Management (CRM) was also a pretty new concept and the crew had not received training. The captain failed to stop the unnecessary conversation of the first officer when it should have been a 'sterile co*ckpit' and only focused on operational items.
The flight attendant should not have been in the co*ckpit at that time. The conversation and lack of concentration could have led to the flight crew inadvertently forgetting to set up the correct configuration.
Contributing factors included Delta Air Line's slow implementation of modifications to manuals, training and procedures and the lack of action by the FAA regarding known deficiencies at the airline.
" I met a four-striper and a three-striper walking away from the crash in tattered clothes... They were walking away with some people who had been on the plane. They just kept turning around and looking at the airplane."
Off-duty firefighter at the scene as told to The Deseret News.
Related: BOAC Flight 712 - A Cabin Crew Perspective
