American Airlines Flight 191 News Reports | 25 May 1979 Chicago, Illinois

Accident Description:
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Photo Archive:
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𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝟭𝟵𝟭 was a scheduled passenger domestic passenger flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (Reg. N110AA) on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟱, 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟵.

At 14:59 local time the flight taxied from the gate at O'Hare Airport. At 15:02:38, the flight was cleared for takeoff and at 15:02:46 the captain acknowledged, "American 191 under way." The takeoff roll was normal until just before rotation at which time sections of the No. 1 engine pylon structure came off the plane. During rotation the entire No. 1 engine and pylon separated from the plane, went over the top of the wing, and fell to the runway. About 9 seconds after liftoff, the plane had accelerated to 172 knots and reached 140 feet.

About 9 seconds after liftoff, the plane had accelerated to 172 knots and reached 140 feet of altitude. As the climb continued, the plane began to decelerate at a rate of about one knot per second, and at 20 seconds after liftoff, and an altitude of 325 feet, airspeed had been reduced to 159 knots. At this point, the plane began to roll to the left, countered by rudder and aileron inputs. The plane continued to roll until impact, 31 seconds after liftoff, and in a 112° left roll, and 21° nose down pitch attitude. At 15:04 the plane crashed in an open field and trailer park about 4,600 feet northwest of the departure end of runway 32R.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲:
"The asymmetrical stall and the ensuing roll of the aircraft because of the uncommanded retraction of the left wing outboard leading edge slats and the loss of stall warning and slat disagreement indication systems resulting from maintenance-induced damage leading to the separation of the no.1 engine and pylon assembly procedures which led to failure of the pylon structure.
Contributing to the cause of the accident were the vulnerability of the design of the pylon attach points to maintenance damage; the vulnerability of the design of the leading edge slat system to the damage which produced asymmetry; deficiencies in FAA surveillance and reporting systems which failed to detect and prevent the use of improper maintenance procedures; deficiencies in the practices and communications among the operators, the manufacturer, and the FAA which failed to determine and disseminate the particulars regarding previous maintenance damage incidents; and the intolerance of prescribed operational procedures to this unique emergency."