American Airlines Flight 191

American Airlines Flight 191

Flight 191 after takeoff, missing its left engine, leaking fuel and hydraulic fluid
Accident
Date	May 25, 1979 (May 25, 1979)
Summary	Engine detachment leading to loss of control[1]
Site	Des Plaines, near O'Hare International Airport, Illinois, U.S. 42°0′35″N 87°55′45″W / 42.00972°N 87.92917°W / 42.00972; -87.92917 (accident site)[1]: 2
Total fatalities	273
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Operator	American Airlines
IATA flight No.	AA191
ICAO flight No.	AAL191
Call sign	AMERICAN 191
Registration	N110AA
Flight origin	O'Hare International Airport
Destination	Los Angeles International Airport
Occupants	271
Passengers	258
Crew	13
Fatalities	271
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	2
Ground injuries	2

American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. On the afternoon of May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating this flight was taking off from runway 32R at O'Hare International when its left engine detached from the wing, causing a loss of control, and the aircraft crashed less than one mile (1.6 km) from the end of the runway. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. With 273 fatalities, it is the deadliest aviation accident^[a] to have occurred in the United States.^[2][3][4]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that as the aircraft was beginning its takeoff rotation, engine number one (the left engine) separated from the left wing, flipping over the top of the wing and landing on the runway. As the engine separated from the aircraft, it severed hydraulic lines that lock the wing's leading-edge slats in place and damaged a 3-foot (0.9 m) section of the left wing's leading edge. Aerodynamic forces acting on the wing resulted in an uncommanded retraction of the outboard slats. As the aircraft began to climb, the damaged left wing—with no engine—produced far less lift than the right wing, which had its slats still deployed and its engine providing full takeoff thrust. The disrupted and unbalanced aerodynamics of the aircraft caused it to roll abruptly to the left until it was partially inverted, reaching a bank angle of 112°, before crashing in an open field by a trailer park near the end of the runway. The engine separation was attributed to damage to the pylon structure holding the engine to the wing, caused by improper maintenance procedures at American Airlines.^[5][6][7]

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