The Worst Aviation Disaster in US History Happened at O’Hare | Air Disasters | Smithsonian

American Airlines 191 is in trouble shortly after take-off from O’Hare Airport, on May 25, 1979. By the end of the day, the DC-10 has crashed and all 271 people on board are dead. It's the worst aviation disaster in US history.

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[henryruzakowski]

My girlfriend at the time, her roommate, she lost her mother, father and brother on that flight. This was a couple of years only after the accident. You could see the loss in her eyes, she finished college at the University of Miami. Strong person, strong woman. Still thinking about you Katie.

[marksullivan]

My Aunt Nancy Sullivan was a stewardess on that fateful flight. It literally took the life out of my grandparents. She was covering for her friend on that flight. Dad said her friend was in therapy for quite awhile. I still remember hearing my mom and dad crying upstairs like it was yesterday. The pain never goes away 💔

[davespin]

My dad traveled for work back then 100% and was headed home. My aunt called my mom to ask if she had heard from my dad and to turn on the news. My other aunt kept calling the airline and learned his name WAS on the flight list. But, due to her persistence she also learned he missed his flight because a meeting was delayed. When he took off he saw the flames below not knowing it was his flight he narrowly missed. When my dad got home I hugged him extra long and never took him for granted again.
He lived for another 27 years, thank God.

[aziegster]

My dad was supposed to be on this flight. He was bumped last minute. To think I wouldn't be here if he had been onboard is a mind-numbing thought. Bless those 271 people that were onboard.

[nerblebun]

It's difficult to even imagine the accumulated terror taking place in the cabin when every passenger knew it was their last few seconds of life.

[jackozminkowski]

My wife of 7 months was killed with this crash. Thankfully lessons were learned and no one else had to die from a similar situation. After all these years it still hurts so much 😢😢😢😢😢😢

[planreview]

I was a responding firefighter to that scene on that day. When we arrived on scene, minutes after the crash at the Chicago Police Department dog training property, there was absolutely nothing to do (other than removing deceased bodies). No one to medically treat. Complete devastation of man and machine.

[so-bright-i-cant-see]

My grandpa died in this crash. My mom was only 17 years old and lost her father. My grandma lost the love of her life she had been with since she was 15 years old. I never got to meet him. It haunts my mom to this day. Its so heartbreaking and horrific, i cant imagine what everyone and my grandpa went through in thoselast moments. Im so sorry to everyone who lost someone. I'll meet you one day, grandpa❤

[Utonian]

Horrifying fact: one of the victims who perished on this flight was a man named Leonard Stogel, who's parents also died in a plane crash, (AA flight 1) both crashes were due to improper maintenance...

[akirastate]

When they did the maintenance, they removed both the engine and the pylon as a single unit to save time. The actual procedure was to remove the engine first and then the pylon. That is what led to the left engine separating from the pylon and it went upwards and then it fell onto the runway. This damaged one of the hydraulic systems as well as electrical power. Because of asymmetrical thrust, the plane banked to the left and crashed. There was nothing the pilots could do. All 241 on board were killed.

[karenhartrich]

I was an ER nurse in a nearby hospital when the crash occurred. We put our disaster plan into effect. There was so much conflicting information about the plane... We first heard that maybe it was a cargo plane & we weren't sure what to expect. I remember standing on the ambulance doc and seeing the smoke from O'Hare field. We then heard from our firefighters who used to frequent the emergency room that there were no survivors & heat was so intense they couldn't get near the crash site for quite a while. I'll never forget that horrific day.😢

[silverfox]

I was there that day working the ramp at Eastern Airlines. It was a beautiful Spring day and I remember standing there outside enjoying the sunshine. All of a sudden I felt the ground tremble and heard an explosion off in the distance. Shortly thereafter we could smell the jet fuel and learned that Flight 191, an American Airlines DC-10 had crashed right after takeoff. One of our guys working the ramp with us that day said, " I have to get to that gate where Flight 191 departed from because my parents were on that plane." He took off like a sprinter never slowing down. When he arrived at the gate he was shocked to see his parents there. They were pass riding and were bumped off the flight by an American Airlines employee. Godbless those 271 souls on board. May they rest in peace.

[manuelvalencia]

That crash still haunts me since my dad had finished a meeting earlier and was trying to make that flight. He was told that the flight was fully booked and that he would have to fly on his flight later. I really didn't understand about him not making this flight until years later, when I saw the documentary on this (not this documentary, but one much older than this). I just felt I had to watch this to get the haunting feeling out of my system. Since that crash, my dad (even I) make it a point not to rush to catch a flight.

[robertphillips]

I remember the Airline Spokesman saying that the Aircrew was trained in how to handle losing an engine. What they meant was having an engine shut down and not fall off as this one did.

[johnshields]

In my younger days cameras were usually only on birthdays, graduations, weddings, so to see that shot of an airplane sideways, so close to the ground was the most horrifying thing I'd ever seen photographed.

[voyaristika]

I hope they never stop calling passengers on flights "souls." It sounds respectful, reverential, precious.

[cletedavis]

I was driving home on Oakton Avenue when I saw the massive black cloud of this crash in the distance. A friend of mine who was a nurse at Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove Village, IL said the Hospital went on red alert, and they had the medical staff ready and waiting for survivors. Then the word came that there were NO survivors. She said the entire nursing staff and doctors broke down and started crying.

[syramento]

On May 25th, 1979 I was working the Ground Control position in LaGuardia Tower when we got word, without explanation, to hold all O'Hare-bound departures. LaGuardia is geographically a very small airport so I cursed as I struggled to find places to park the aircraft. After word trickled back to us about this disaster, my heart was heavy with sorrow. I still think about American 191 to this day.

[allanbrogdon]

In Tulsa hangar 6-C I spoke with a member of the maintenance crew still working in 1999.The crew chief committed suicide.The engine -pylon combination was being lifted into place and attached at one point when the forklift ran out of fuel.Shift change didn't realize the forklift hydraulic cylinder had "bled down"allowing an impingement of the mounts and when the engine -pylon combination was installed no-one could see the crack developing, it was hidden.The airline shamelessly fought the families.

[lkdonner]

I saw the crash. From what I remember it was like 3:10 in the after noon. The amount of black smoke that rose up from all that fuel was hard to comprehend, it filled up so much of the sky. Terrible sight and loss of life.