It happened in seconds. People on the ground at O'Hare didn't even have time to process what they were seeing before the sky turned into a wall of fire. When we talk about a plane crash American Airlines experienced, the mind almost always goes back to 1979. It's the one that changed everything. Honestly, if you’ve ever sat in a window seat and looked out at the wings, wondering how those massive engines actually stay attached, you’re thinking about the ghost of Flight 191.
Memorial Day weekend should have been a routine hop to Los Angeles. Instead, it became the deadliest aviation accident on U.S. soil.
What Actually Happened to Flight 191?
The takeoff started normally. Then, just as the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was lifting off the runway, the left engine literally ripped itself off the wing. It didn't just stop working. It flipped over the top of the wing, severed hydraulic lines, and fell onto the pavement.
Gravity is unforgiving.
Without those hydraulic lines, the slats on the left wing retracted. This caused the wing to stall while the right wing was still generating lift. The plane rolled. It didn't dive nose-first; it tilted until it was nearly vertical, wings perpendicular to the ground, before slamming into an open field.
Everyone on board died. Two people on the ground died.
The Maintenance Shortcut No One Talked About
You might think it was a mechanical failure or a design flaw. It wasn't. Not exactly. The real culprit was a shortcut. To save time during maintenance, American Airlines crews had started using a forklift to remove the entire engine and its pylon as a single unit. The manufacturer, McDonnell Douglas, specifically told them not to do this. They recommended taking the engine off first, then the pylon.
But a forklift is faster. It saves about 200 man-hours per plane.
👉 See also: Ethics in the News: What Most People Get Wrong
The problem? The forklift wasn't precise enough. It put microscopic cracks in the pylon attachment points. Every takeoff after that was just a countdown. On that day in Chicago, the metal finally gave up. It’s a chilling reminder that in aviation, "good enough" is a death sentence.
Why This Plane Crash American Airlines Flight Matters Now
Modern flying is incredibly safe, but the scars from 1979 are still visible in every pre-flight check. We don't just trust the hardware anymore; we obsess over the paper trail. After the crash, the FAA grounded the entire DC-10 fleet. It was a massive blow to the industry's reputation.
People were terrified.
Even today, investigators look at the "Swiss Cheese Model." It’s the idea that for a disaster to happen, the holes in several layers of defense have to line up perfectly.
- A forbidden maintenance procedure.
- A lack of redundant locking mechanisms.
- A pilot training manual that didn't cover what to do if you lost an entire engine pylon (because who would expect that?).
If any one of those things hadn't happened, those 273 people might have made it to California.
The Myth of the "Death Plane"
For a long time, the DC-10 was labeled a "death plane." It's a bit unfair, honestly. While the DC-10 had some early design issues—specifically with the cargo doors—the plane crash American Airlines suffered in Chicago was largely a human error in the hangar. Yet, the public perception stuck.
Airlines eventually rebranded them or sold them off to cargo carriers like FedEx.
✨ Don't miss: When is the Next Hurricane Coming 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
You've probably noticed that modern planes have engines hanging much further forward or attached differently. That's not just for aerodynamics. It's so that if an engine fails catastrophically, it's designed to fall away from the aircraft without taking the flight control surfaces with it.
Lessons That Saved Future Flights
We learned about "asymmetric stall." That's a fancy way of saying one wing flies and the other doesn't. Pilots now train for this specifically in simulators. They practice for the "unthinkable" scenarios where the plane's own instruments might give conflicting information.
In the Chicago crash, the pilots didn't know the slats had retracted. The warning system for that was powered by... the engine that fell off.
Talk about a nightmare loop.
Because of this, modern aircraft have multiple, independent power sources for critical warning systems. If an engine falls off today, the pilot's stick shaker (the thing that vibrates to warn of a stall) would still work. They would have had a fighting chance.
Safety Data and the FAA
Since then, the FAA’s oversight changed from being reactive to proactive. They don't just wait for a crash to change the rules. They use big data to track tiny anomalies across thousands of flights.
It’s why you can fly 100 times a year and never feel a bump.
🔗 Read more: What Really Happened With Trump Revoking Mayorkas Secret Service Protection
The American Airlines Flight 191 memorial in Des Plaines, Illinois, wasn't even built until 2011. It took decades for the community to finally have a place to mourn. It’s a simple wall with the names of the victims. It sits in Lake Park, a few miles from the crash site, reminding us that every safety regulation we follow today was written in the blood of people who were just trying to go on vacation or get home for dinner.
How to Track Aviation Safety Records
If you're nervous about flying or just curious about the history of a specific carrier, you don't have to rely on rumors. There are actual databases that track this stuff with brutal honesty.
- NTSB Database: The National Transportation Safety Board keeps every single report. You can search by airline, date, or aircraft type. It’s dense, but it’s the truth.
- Aviation Safety Network: This is a private project that tracks every incident globally. It's often faster than official government sites.
- AirlineRatings.com: They give out safety stars based on audits from the FAA and ICAO.
Actionable Steps for the Informed Traveler
Understanding the history of aviation isn't about feeding a fear of flying. It’s about knowing how the system protects you. Here is how you can use this knowledge:
Check the Equipment: When you book a flight, look at the aircraft type. While every plane flying in the U.S. meets strict standards, some people prefer newer models like the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 which have even more advanced redundant systems.
Read the Safety Card: I know, nobody does it. But the "brace position" and the location of the exits are based on data from crashes like Flight 191. Knowing the number of rows to the nearest exit can be the difference between getting out in 90 seconds or getting stuck in smoke.
Support Maintenance Transparency: Safety isn't free. When airlines cut costs, maintenance is often where the pressure builds. Support regulations that keep maintenance jobs in-house or under strict FAA oversight rather than outsourcing to the lowest bidder in countries with less oversight.
The tragedy of the American Airlines DC-10 was a turning point. It forced the industry to realize that speed and profit can never come before the literal nuts and bolts of the aircraft. Next time you board a flight and hear that engine hum, remember that thousands of people—engineers, inspectors, and pilots—are working to make sure the mistakes of 1979 stay in the history books.