The Training Flight That Turned Deadly | The Crash Of Delta Airlines Flight 9877

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This is the story of Delta airlines flight 9877. On the 30th of march 1967 a DC 8 was flying over the skies of New Orleans with a very special mission. The flight's purpose was to provide crew training. Tonight they’d be practicing the procedures for a landing with two engines out .While it may seem strange to us today. They had to take a massive 4 engined long range plane into the sky to train 3 people, you have to remember this was the 1960s, man hadn't landed on the moon yet and the simulators of the time may have been woefully inadequate in providing a realistic experience for the crew members. So their only option was to fly these training flights.

But what exactly would they be doing on this simulated two engine out approach. So here’s what the manual had to say about landing a DC8 with two engines out on one side. First you could fly the traffic pattern if you wanted. But you had to plan the traffic pattern in advance you had to avoid banking over 30 degrees with more than two engines out. At first a speed of 200 knots is recommended as rudder travel is restricted when the flaps are less than 10 degrees, flying at a higher speed gives you more control authority.

Once on the downwind leg you can extend flaps to 25 and maintain 165 knots. The minimum speed for a DC 8 on two engines is about 151 knots and 165 knots gives you a good buffer. Just a quick side note the downwind leg is the leg when you fly parallel to the landing runway in the direction opposite to the landing direction. Once you're on the base leg you can lower the landing gear and you can extend the flaps to 25 degrees.The drag from the landing gear is negligible and once on the final you can drop down to 155 knots. Maintain 155 knots and only add more flaps when you're sure that you’re not gonna undershoot the runway. After you’re ready for your landing make an approach that is no steeper than a normal approach and land on the runway as soon as possible. do not flare or float along the runway and make contact as soon as possible. That's how you land a DC8 with two engines out. If you ever find yourself in that situation you now know what to do. This is exactly what the crew were attempting that night.

On tonights flight they had a captain trainee and a flight engineer trainee and a flight engineer that was being given a proficiency check. The weather for the flight was not that bad visibility would get a bit hazy at 600 feet due to smoke and fog but other than that it was typical night. The plane departed the ramp at 12:40 am with the trainee captain in the left seat and the check captain in the right seat. They didn't have to confirm their flight plan with ATC because they had not filed one. For test flights like these a flight plan was not needed.

They contact the tower at 12:43 am, they tell the tower that they’d like to circle and land back on runway 1, The plane lifted off into the cold night and everything appeared to be normal. At 12:47 a m the pilots radioed ATC that they were on the base leg for runway 1, this means that they were flying at a 90 degree angle to runway 01. They talked to the ATC a bit more they wanted to land, come to a stop and then take off again from runway 19, presumably so that the crew that was being trained could get some hours in on the airplane.

[KVirello]

Literally the day after I watched this I went out for a walk and ended up having to land a DC-8 with 2 engines out. Thank god I watched this video when I did!

[sambecker]

I don't know about you guys, but I literally have to land a DC-8 with 2 engines out every day. So glad I know the proper procedure now.

[jimmywrangles]

Excellent, I've often been in situations where i said to myself "sucks that I don't know how to fly a DC8 with engines out". Now I'm good. :)

[Rems]

My Dad worked for Delta at MSY when this happened. The deaths on the ground were due to the plane crashing into the Airport Hilton that was located just across the highway from the runway. The way he told the story was that the instructor was purposely trying to TEST the trainee to see his reactions. My Dad was not in Flight ops, but that was the story that was going around the company at the time.

[thedie-castaviator]

The DC-8 is such a good looking aircraft. Love the vintage footage.
RIP to all involved in this accident.

[Kevin_]

When I got my DC-8 type rating most simulators were not certified for full motion t/o and landings. I had to demonstrate three t/o's and landings in the airplane. One approach two engines were reduced to flight idle with a landing to full stop. It was manageable but quite a handful. Your continuous loop of the MGM Grand 62's at LAX brings back memories. I flew 801, 802 and 803MG quite a bit. Nice airplanes and unusual for DC-8's as they had APU's.

[catjudo]

My grandfather worked for Delta after three years at TWA and spending The War flying bombers to the UK before and during America's involvement. He remembered the DC-8 as an easy and pleasant airliner to fly, though he never had anything go wrong in an airliner. He said that they were sleek and fast, but also said that he really preferred the Convair 880's Delta had more. I could kick myself for not thinking to write down his tales of flight, for he had some really neat stuff in that noggin of his. I miss him, a lot.

[frederickwhite]

When I 1st got to the regional world in the EMB 120 we did the majority of the training between 2300 and 0500 in the AC. As you pointed out fatigue is always a drag. On paper you get 8 hours. But you have to put the AC to bed wait for the hotel van to show up, in bad wx. It's always going to take longer. Check in, get to your room, clean up get out of your monkey suit, grab a meal, chit chat go to your room try and grab some sleep. I'm a rotten sleeper to begin with so being in a different hotel and bed every night didn't help.Sometimes we didn't bother sleeping because we would have been to beat to get up. So we slept during the flight. Eventually something would wake you up. That's flying. Great job. I enjoy your videos because you read everything. I don't have to be looking at my phone trying to read tiny paragraphs in a color that matches the background and can't be seen at all. I can listen leaving my hands and eyes free to do other things like fly.

[mikeup]

Really really impressed with your breakdowns and narrations! I'm an aviation geek and I will watch as much as you post...thanks for sharing!!

[surferdude]

The instructor added flaps without bothering to tell the captain? Maybe that was critical information that he needed to know.

[rickyjanzen]

Thank goodness we have simulators now, but who ever thought it was a good idea to simulate massive engine loss at low altitude with a trainee crew?

[DowntownDeuce]

Thank you for publishing a little known piece of New Orleans history.

[tomperkins]

Whew! Just last week that very thing happened to me on the DC Beltway! Saved my life and the lives of many others.

[fdllicks]

3 hours of real sleep??? Then test you with a 2 engine failure landing in an airport surrounded by hotels. What could go wrong? Awesome video btw!!!!

[capchemist]

Thanks for sharing. If I have to land a DC-8 with two engines out, I now know what to do.

[nicholasjohnson]

RAAF did the same thing with a Beoing 707 in the 90's, simulated two engines out on one side and crashed at Sale in Victoria Australia.

IT'S not an ordinary test when youre flying for real.

[johnpollard]

9 of the dead were high-school girls on a senior trip. They were heading out in the morning to the Mississippi coast.

[maddiethesmall]

My grandpa was one of the pilots on the flight. Never got to meet him. Thanks for the report! The loss of life is felt to this day.

[WayneHermanproject]

I learn and discover much from these great educational videos about flying airliners. I have Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D v4 Flight Simulator/Trainer installed on my PC, and have been Flying and learning as I go along. Before this - in the last 15 years Microsoft FSX - X. Most if not all your great videos are cover landing mishaps that have cost hundreds of lives. From this video, I have learned: The Four Procedure legs for landing, Flap settings, Speed requirements. Thank you.

[CV_CA]

5:30 That is so true, I am playing with FS2020, they simulate that effect very well. When the flaps are all down, need some more power otherwise drops like crazy.