He started heading for the scene. Northwest Airlines Flight 255 memorial (Bing Maps). I have not visited the memorial. James Wieging, who ministered to families who lost loved ones during the Northwest Airlines Flight 255 disaster at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in 1987 as well as in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, died Aug. 11 at the age of 79. Flight 255 is the seventh deadliest plane crash in United States history, and is the deadliest aviation disaster to have a sole survivor. Also, a marker stone is located at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford, MI, in memory of the 14 GM employees and seven family members who were killed in the crash. Flight 255 first responder releases song about famous crash: A message of grief and hope. That flight was delayed, so Rhett switched to Northwest Flight 255. More than 30 of the passengers were under 25. The only survivor, Cecelia Cichan, a four-year-old from Arizona, was traveling with her mother, father, and older brother. The 35-year-old first officer, David Dodds, was hired in 1979. The families of dozens of victims have been flown into Detroit, booked into hotels near the airport and assigned a personal counselor by Northwest Airlines. He moved through the debris and bodies with a flashlight and discovered Cecelia strapped in a seat turned upside down. First Officer Dodds had to refer to the companys Runway Takeoff Weight Chart Manual. It wasalmost two years before I got my first real job in radio. One hundred fifty-seven people were killed. trial was to have determined whether and to what degree Northwest and McDonnell Douglas were to blame for the crash of Flight 255 on takeoff from Detroit for . Contributing to the accident was the absence of electrical power to the airplane takeoff warning system, which thus did not warn the flightcrew that the airplane was not configured properly for takeoff. It was the day when American Airlines Flight 191 crashed minutes after taking off from O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Which of course as a first responder is something that's going to get your very immediate attention," said Northwest Flight 255 First Responder Andy Graves. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The autothrottle system failing to engage was the first red flag, with the stall warning being the second. Within minutes, the plane began to roll from side to side just. [1]:2 During the stopover in Detroit, a Northwest Airlines mechanic inspected the aircraft and the logbook. "This song is emotional and beautiful and powerful and it captures that night," he said. The aircraft crashed in the Detroit suburb of Romulus, killing all 154 people aboard except for a 4-year-old girl. Northwest Airlines Flight 255 ATC recording, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 CVR recording, MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, List of aircraft accidents and incidents resulting in at least 50 fatalities, List of sole survivors of airline accidents or incidents, "Aircraft Accident Report, Northwest Airlines, Inc. McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82, N312RC, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan, August 16, 1987", "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) N312RC Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW)", "United States of America air safety profile", "Ten worst aircraft accidents with lone survivors", "Picture of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (DC-9-82) aircraft", "Crash Survivor's Psychic Pain May Be the Hardest to Heal", "4-YEAR-OLD CECILIA AWAKENS, ASKS FOR MOTHER, THEN DOLL", "Mother May Not Have Saved Lone Survivor of Plane Crash", "Flight 255: Tragedy Lingers After 20 Years", "Sole Survivor Of Metro Airport Crash Breaks Her Silence", "Northwest Airlines (NW) #261 FlightAware", "Flight Finder Detroit Metro Wayne Co (KDTW) - Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl (KPHX) FlightAware", "A mother's long journey follows son's final flight", "Memorial held for victims of 1987 Flight 255 plane crash", "30 years later: Flight 255 bonds victims' families", "Sole Survivor Of Plane Crash Breaks Silence", "Survivor of 1987 Mich. plane crash breaks silence", "1987 Plane Crash: 'Sole Survivor' Cecelia Crocker Breaks Silence On Northwest Airlines Flight 255 Accident", "Tom Higgins: The Wreaths of Middlebelt Road", Pre-crash photos of N312RC on Airliners.net, Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17, 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northwest_Airlines_Flight_255&oldid=1130000402, Airliner accidents and incidents in Michigan, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1987, Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-82, Northwest Airlines accidents and incidents, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by stalls, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, # = Expletive deleted; * = Unintelligible word; () = Questionable text; (()) = Commentary; - = Break in continuity; Shading = Radio communication. [1]:2526[11] After the crash, Cichan moved to live with her maternal aunt and uncle in Birmingham, Alabama. Knowing those lost will not be forgotten. This evidence suggested that the aircraft had encountered a wind shear that decreased its performance capability. Shortly after dropping him off, he witnessed the second worst air disaster in the United States history, the crash of Northwest Flight 255, the flight that he skipped. Thirty years ago, as she departed Detroit Metropolitan Airport after dropping off her 22-year-old son, Kirk, Murdy witnessed Northwest Airlines Flight 255 come crashing down into a nearby building before exploding. Many will do so again on Aug. 16, 2017 at 8:46 p.m., the time of the accident. The flight crashed after takeoff in . The victims of the crash included NBA player Nick Vanos, seven people from Orange County, California and a four-month old baby from Arizona. It was now time to point the investigation towards the actual takeoff. [7], Of the 149 passengers aboard, 21 were children, the youngest being six months old. She had just spent two weeks at her fathers home in Toledo, Ohio, and was en route to her home in Santa Ana, Calif. All they found was her wallet--badly burnt--with her school ID and Social Security card, said Donnie Ratliff. Flight attendant Bruce R. Elfering, 23, Eagan, Minnesota Flight attendant Pamela O. Sparks-Shaffer, 36, Chandler, Arizona Passengers KIlled Aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 255 They were changed to Flights 260 and 261 beginning in September 1987 until the company merged with Delta Air Lines in early 2010. The interruption of the input power to the CAWS occurred at the P-40 circuit breaker. Moments after takeoff, Northwest Flight 255 stalled and crashed onto Middlebelt Road. Rick Pluta was a reporter for United Press International at the time. In the process of taxiing, Flight 255 missed the required turn, so Dodds contacted the ground controller and received instructions on how to proceed to runway 3C, and also to switch to 119.45MHz. The Washington Post compiled a list of victims of the crash using information from the Wayne County medical examiners office as well as the victims relatives: A black granite memorial was built in 1994 to commemorate the victims. Melvin C. Roundy, 53, Mesa, off-duty Northwest employee. As we stood in the living room of his new place on Arsenal Road, we heard a sirenoutside the kind youd hear if a tornado warning were issued. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); The NTSB was unable to determine a cause for the electrical-power failure in the central aural warning system (CAWS): "The failure of the takeoff warning system was caused by the loss of input 28V dc. The now uncontrolled plane crashed inverted onto Middlebelt Road and struck vehicles just north of its intersection with Wick Road, killing two people on the ground in a car. Right to zero six zero cleared to go northwest two fifty five. Schaffer-Smith says she was 10 at the time. Terms of Use | Online Privacy Policy, NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, Northwest Flight 255. Following are names of 155 of at least 156 victims in the crash of a Northwest Airlines jet Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, including six crew members, 147 passengers and two people killed on the ground. The plane had basically backed up entirely onto the bridge, and I stayed there and took it in for a while. On August 16, 2007, the 20th anniversary of the crash, a memorial service was held at the site. The flight's captain, John R. Maus, was an experienced pilot with 31 years of experience with the airline. The crash killed 156, including two people on the ground, the flight crew, and every passenger except one Cecilia Cechan. Northwest fourteen sixty six metro tower traffic your following is a very short final runway three left cleared to land winds three zero zero at one three. Two motorists on Middlebelt Road were also killed. It sits at the top of a hill at Middlebelt Road and I-94. Other pilots described the two as "competent and capable.". 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; The devastation claimed the lives of six crew members and 148 passengers, along with two people on the ground. She spoke publicly about the accident for the first time in 2013 as part of a documentary on sole survivors of disasters. Two people on the ground were also killed. Higgins, then of The Charlotte Observer, and fellow NASCAR beat reporters Steve Waid and Gary McCredie (of Grand National Scene) arrived at a hotel near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport awaiting a Monday morning flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, after finishing coverage of the Champion Spark Plug 400 that afternoon, and were witnesses to the plane crash. All rights reserved. This page was last edited on 28 December 2022, at 04:29. 156 ( 154 + 2) . Fr. This lead to the plane's wing flaps failing to extend prior to takeoff. Northwest Airlines Flight 255 On August 16, 1987 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, about 8:46 pm EDT (00:46 UTC August 17), resulting in the deaths of all six crew members and 148 of the 149 passengers, along with two people on the ground. Now after three decades, a local first responder is paying tribute to the. 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