After 25 years, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport unveils memorial to Delta Flight 191; worst aviation disaster in Texas history
Hoodoo
Sunday, Aug. 01, 2010
By Gordon Dickson and Andrea Ahles
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/01/2376304/after-25-years-dfw-airport-to.html
D/FW AIRPORT -- Finally, a tribute to those who died in -- and those who
survived -- the worst aviation disaster in Texas history will be etched
in granite.
Today, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport officials unveiled a memorial to the
crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191 at Founders Plaza, the popular
airport observation area near Texas 114/121 and Texan Trail.
The unveiling was 25 years to the day after the L-1011 jumbo jet plunged
to the ground, killing 135 people and injuring 26, while trying to land
during a fierce and sudden summer storm on the north end of D/FW. The
crash rewrote the book on how pilots and others in the aviation industry
cope with wind shear and other weather phenomena.
"Delta 191 educated the entire global aviation community about the
danger of thunderstorms and wind shear in a way no other incident had
before," said D/FW Airport chief executive Jeff Fegan.
Several first-responders and family members of victims attended the
memorial ceremony today where a three-foot granite monument was
dedicated. Two passengers aboard the fated airliner died years after the
tragedy, including Kathy Christy Ford, the daughter of Burleson resident
Bob Christy.
"We thought Kathy was killed until this fellow found my daughter quite
sometime after the wreck," Christy said, adding that Kathy Ford was
unconscious, in a coma. "For 10 years she was like that, and we were
heart-broken."
She died on Dec. 11, 1995, at age 46.
Christy was pleased to see the airport erect a memorial to the victims
and to honor the first responders on that day.
Joe Dealey of Dallas, who ran D/FW Airport's public affairs and media
relations office from 1984 to 1999, said the memory of that evening is
never far from his mind.
"It's like many bad memories we all share," he said. "Time has a way of
... taking the sting out. The recall of that evening can be triggered in
unusual ways -- a big thunderstorm, the story of another big plane
crash, someone reminding me and asking me, 'Gosh you were there. What
was it like?'"
Despite the historical significance of the crash, for a quarter-century
there were no physical reminders of that fateful day on airport property.
Airport officials believe it's time now to remember the victims and
honor the hundreds of first responders who rescued survivors and dealt
with the horrific aftermath, airport spokesman David Magana said. The
granite memorial is about two miles west of the crash site.
"Our thoughts are always with the families of the customers, crew and
employees lost on Flight 191 25 years ago," Delta said in a statement
Monday morning. "As a result of this tragedy, significant advancements
in aviation safety were made that have benefited the entire global industry.
"The safety of our customers and employees remains our No. 1 priority
every day."
After Flight 191 went down, firefighters, police and many other
officials with the airport's in-house public safety department as well
as neighboring cities such as Grapevine and Irving spent days recovering
bodies and preserving evidence, and then dealing with the psychological
effects of what they had seen.
After the crash, wind-shear detection equipment was installed at
airports worldwide and made mandatory on commercial planes, Magana said.
Prime time
Delta Air Lines Flight 191 went down in prime time. At 6:05 p.m. Aug. 2,
1985, a Friday afternoon, television stations were in the midst of their
newscasts when the flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., flew into a storm.
The plane, on approach to Runway 17L, encountered a microburst with
winds up to 84 mph that shoved the wide-body jet to the ground.
The plane first struck a vehicle on Texas 114, killing a motorist, and
then briefly went airborne again before crashing in a soggy field,
killing 136 others. In the final impact, the left wing struck the
ground, then the wing and cockpit hit water tanks on airport property,
spinning the fuselage counterclockwise.
Most of the plane disintegrated, although the charred tail was
preserved. In photos, the tail section became a widely recognized symbol
of the crash.
The flight crew had very little warning. Crew members saw the storm
while approaching D/FW but remained mostly unalarmed, according to
transcripts of their on-board conversations recovered by flight recorders.
They lost control of the aircraft in a mere 38 seconds.
Related content on webpage:
Remembering a disaster
View photos
Flight 191 memorial
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport will dedicate a memorial to Delta Air Lines
Flight 191, which crashed Aug. 2, 1985.
When: 9:30 a.m. today
Where: Founders Plaza, 1700 N. Airfield Drive, near Texas 114/121 and
Texan Trail
Details: The ceremony will include a D/FW Department of Public Safety
Honor Guard, a prayer from the D/FW Interfaith Chaplaincy and remarks
from airport Chief Executive Jeff Fegan.
More: www.dfwairport.com
Source: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
Delta crash devastated lives but led to improved air safety
Bud Kennedy remembers a weekend that redefined loss
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Kathi
wrote:
>After 25 years, D/FW Airport unveils memorial to Delta Flight 191
>
>Sunday, Aug. 01, 2010
>By Gordon Dickson and Andrea Ahles
>http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/01/2376304/after-25-years-dfw-airport-to.html
>
>D/FW AIRPORT -- Finally, a tribute to those who died in -- and those who
>survived -- the worst aviation disaster in Texas history will be etched
>in granite.
>
>Today, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport officials unveiled a memorial to the
>crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191 at Founders Plaza, the popular
>airport observation area near Texas 114/121 and Texan Trail.
>
>The unveiling was 25 years to the day after the L-1011 jumbo jet plunged
>to the ground, killing 135 people and injuring 26, while trying to land
>during a fierce and sudden summer storm on the north end of D/FW. The
>crash rewrote the book on how pilots and others in the aviation industry
>cope with wind shear and other weather phenomena.
<snip>
Although unrelated to weather and determined to be pilot error, the
anniversary date of the crash of Northwest 255 at Detroit's
Metropolitan Airport is approaching (Aug. 16):