Northwest Airlines Flight 255

**Northwest Airlines Flight 255**, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed in Romulus, Michigan shortly and exploding into flames after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on August 16, 1987, at about 8:46 p.m. EDT (00:46 UTC August 17). All 6 crew members and 148 of 149 passengers on board died in the crash plus 2 people on the ground. The lone survivor was a 4-year-old girl, Cecelia Cichan, who sustained serious injuries.

It was the second-deadliest aviation accident at the time in the United States and the second-deadliest involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series; , the crash is the fourth-deadliest in both categories and the third-deadliest sole-survivor incident in aviation history. The flight and its two pilots originated at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, flying to MBS International Airport in Saginaw, Michigan, and was scheduled to terminate at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan (outside of Detroit, Michigan) and Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.

## Accident

The MD-80 was prepared during the pushback, but in the rush, the pilots forgot to deploy the flaps for takeoff. As the aircraft lined up on Runway 32C, the pilots skipped over the flap check. After receiving takeoff clearance, the first officer applies takeoff thrust, but the Takeoff Configuration Warning System does not activate.

The aircraft was rotated upon passing rotation speed, but failed to get into the skies, and almost overran the runway. Just as the aircraft became airborne, the stall recognition system and stick shaker activated, and the aircraft began to roll side to side just under 50 feet above the ground. The left wing strikes a light pole and a car rental building, and the burning aircraft then crashes into Middlebelt Road and slides for a few hundred feet before hitting a car and exploding. All but 1 on board died plus 2 people on the ground who were in the car before the plane crashed.

The sole survivor of the accident was a 4-year-old girl Cecelia Cichan, who obtained serious injuries while pinned in her seat with her seatbelt still strapped. The girl's family (her parents and older brother) were killed in the crash. After releasing in the hospital, she was raised by her relatives. In 2013, she made her debut interview in "Sole Survivor" about her life and the aftermath she experienced.

## Infobox (aircraft occurrence)

- **name**: Northwest Airlines Flight 255
- **image**: NW255 crashsite.jpg
- **image size**: 200
- **caption**: Aftermath of the Flight 255 crash: Aircraft debris field scattered along Middlebelt Road. The near bridge is the Norfolk Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern railroad, and the far bridges are the Interstate 94 in Michigan, I-94 freeway.
- **occurrence type**: Accident
- **date**: August 16, 1987
- **summary**: Improper take-off configuration due to pilot error, mis-management of aircraft, and confusion
- **site**: Detroit Metropolitan Airport,
Romulus, Michigan, United States, U.S.
- **total fatalities**: 156
- **total injuries**: 6
- **plane1 image**: N312RC Aircraft.jpg
- **plane1 caption**: N312RC, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1985 while still in service as Republic Airlines.
- **aircraft type**: McDonnell Douglas MD-80#MD-82, McDonnell Douglas MD-82
- **operator**: Northwest Airlines
- **tail number**: N312RC
- **origin**: ,
Saginaw, Michigan, Saginaw, Michigan, United States
- **stopover0**: Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Detroit, Michigan, United States, U.S.
- **last stopover**: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Sky Harbor International Airport,
Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
- **destination**: John Wayne Airport,
Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana, California, United States
- **passengers**: 149
- **crew**: 6
- **fatalities**: 154
- **injuries**: 1 (serious)
- **survivors**: 1
- **occupants**: 155
- **ground injuries**: 5
- **ground fatalities**: 2
- **iata**: NW255
- **icao**: NWA255
- **callsign**: NORTHWEST 255