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,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r9_kzJOr-Q  National Geographic's "Mayday/Air Crash Investigation" - Cockpit Chaos (Alarming Silence). 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.

References

Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the 1980s
Category:1987 in the United States
Category:1980s in Michigan
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States