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Southwest Airlines Flight 255 Accident Report

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Aircraft Accident Report
Northwest Airlines Flight 255 Accident

Background[1] :

Flight : Northwest Airlines Flight 255

Flight No. : N312RC

Aircraft : McDonnell Douglas MD-80
(Twin Turbofan Engined Short – Medium Range Commercial Jet)

Date : 08:46 pm, Aug 16, 1987

Location : Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan

Crew : 6

Passengers : 149

Casualties: 6 + 148 + 2 = 156 (6 crew, 148 passengers, 2 on ground)

Survivors : 1 (Cecelia Cichan, 4 year old)

History of Flight[1] [2] :

Northwest Airlines Flight 255 started at Tri-City Airport in Saginaw, Michigan and was

scheduled for the destination of John Wayne Airport, Orange County, California. It had 2

intermediate stops – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan and

Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. At about 8:46 pm, on 16 August, 1987,

Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnel Douglas MD-82 aircraft, crashed shortly after

take-off from the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The incident killed all 6 crew

and 148 of the total 149 passengers. The crash also killed 2 people on the ground when they

were driving their car. 5 people on the ground were injured seriously. The sole survivor of

this crash - Cecelia Cichan, a 4 year old girl, sustained serious injuries from which she finally

recovered.

This crash is considered to be the second deadliest aviation accident at the time in the US.

Causes[1] [2] [3] :

Primary Causes[1] [2] [3] :

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