northwest airlines flight 255 victims

Family and friends of the victims and others from across the Metro Detroit area (including local media) attended, and a local priest read each victim's name aloud. He moved through the debris and bodies with a flashlight and discovered Cecelia strapped in a seat turned upside down. electric power between the airplane's left dc. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. Carl A. Scherer, 58, Clarence Center, N.Y. Jay Strausbaugh, 29, Sterling Heights, Mich. Erica Thomsen, 61, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Phyllis A. Zigler, 32, Gasport, N.Y. ON THE GROUND. . The forecast that evening called for a chance of thunderstorms. Two motorists on Middlebelt Road were also killed. Justin Behnke was 7 when his mother died in the crash. For the families who have come to Detroit, there is little to do besides identifying belongings and handing over dental and medical records. [1]:3, At 20:42:11, Flight 255 was instructed to line up and wait at the beginning of runway 3C. Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. We can cry about it.. Moments after takeoff, Northwest Flight 255 stalled and crashed onto Middlebelt Road. Three zero zero at one three and we'll be going to page avjet. Interviews with first officers and other captains who had flown with him described him as a competent and capable pilot. The lone survivor was 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan of Tempe, Arizona. Carl A. Scherer, 58, Clarence Center, N.Y. Jay Strausbaugh, 29, Sterling Heights, Mich. Erica Thomsen, 61, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Phyllis A. Zigler, 32, Gasport, N.Y. ON THE GROUND. Northwest is being as good as they can, said Donnie Ratliff. Captain Maus asked his first officer to verify that they could use runway 3C for takeoff. Thirty years ago, as she departed Detroit Metropolitan Airport after dropping off her 22-year-old son, Kirk, Murdy witnessed Northwest Airlines Flight 255 come crashing down into a nearby building before exploding. At roughly 20:32 EDT, Flight 255 departed the gate in Detroit with 149 passengers (including 21 children) and six crew members. On Sunday, Rhett Bushongs grandmother drove him to the airport here, where he checked in for his flight to Orange County on Continental Airlines. In total, 156 people lost their lives. The chart showed that if the flaps were set to 11 degrees, the maximum allowable takeoff weights for runway 3C was 147,500 pounds. 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. [21] Annual meet-ups had become a tradition. A Northwest representative calls a few times each day just to keep in contact with us and to work out the details of returning Rhetts body to them, Reid Bushong said Wednesday, speaking from Ohio. . U.S. District Judge Julian A. Cook . The National Traffic Safety Administration determines that the probable cause of the accident was the flight crews failure to use the taxi checklist to ensure that the flaps and slats were extended for takeoff. NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, page 68. As of. Ive only caught glimpses of it from one of the on-ramps to westbound I-94. "Went out to the ambulance checked in with our dispatchers and they told us you're responding to Metro Airport for an aircraft down. Investigators believedhuman error most likely caused the crash. In 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashed minutes after taking off from Detroit's Metro Airport, killing 154 people on board and two people on the ground, but leaving behind one tiny miracle. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566. The only survivor was four-year-old Cecelia Cichan. They said proceeds from the song will go to the salvation army, who has supported the victims' families for decades during the annual day of remembrance. The families of dozens of victims have . More: Firefighter who pulled lone survivor from Flight 255 wreckage talks about crash, 35 years later, From the Vault: News coverage from crash of Northwest Flight 255 in 1987. Donnie and Mary Ann Ratliff had the gruesome task this week of going to the temporary morgue at Detroit Metropolitan Airport to identify the personal belongings of their 16-year-old daughter, Hidi. The DC-9 Super 82 pilots forgot to conduct their pre-flight checks, as a result, the warning system never turned on. Dodds again acknowledged the instructions and this time acknowledged the new frequency and switched to it. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. ((Sound similar to nose gear strut extension)), ((Sound similar to nose wheel spinning down)). Hidi was among at least 154 passengers killed Sunday night when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed on takeoff from Detroit's Metropolitan Airport. Meeting up in Romulus for the anniversary has become a yearly tradition. Contributing to the accident was the absence of electrical power to the airplane takeoff warning system which thus did not warn the flightcrew that the airplane was not configured properly for takeoff. The plane then hit an Avis car rental building and crashed onto Middlebelt, just north of Wick Road. More than 30 of the passengers were under the age of 25; two 12-year-olds were unaccompanied minors. The takeoff performance data that was in the flight crews package was based on using either runway 21L or 21R. More than 30 of the passengers were under 25. My senior year at the University of Michigan was about to begin. In total, 154 people on their way to Phoenix died that day in Detroit on August 16, 1987. The plane had basically backed up entirely onto the bridge, and I stayed there and took it in for a while. Immediately after the runway change message, he had to verify runway 3C use with the takeoff performance chart. Morgan is a Digital Editor and has been with WDIV since May of 2022. As of 2014, Northwest, now owned by Delta, continues the retirement of 255 as a flight number. This coincided with the missing sounds from the CVR of the incident flight.[14]. J. Cathie Corona, 44, St. Clair Shores, Mich. Lewis Dresch, 45, Sterling Heights, Mich. Ernest John Mathews, 38, Sterling Heights, Mich. Eric Mazade, 30, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. Suzanne Morris, 35, Federal Way, Wash., off-duty Northwest flight attendant. It was determined that the only circumstance that the plane would have been in dangerous proximity to obstacles at the end of the runway, was if the flaps and slats were completely retracted in its takeoff configuration. Flight 255 is the seventh deadliest plane crash in United States history, and is the deadliest aviation disaster to have a sole survivor. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; AP Photo Flowers and pictures are shown at the memorial Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Romulus, Mich. to mark the 25th anniversary of the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 near Detroit . Shortly after dropping him off, he witnessed the second worst air disaster in the United States history, the crash of Northwest Flight 255, the flight that he skipped. If it wasnt the pilots themselves, the aircraft, or the weather, it had to be the takeoff configuration. Witnesses reported that the plane was at a 90-degree left wing down position when it struck a roof. Northwest Airlines Flight 255 is one of the deadliest aviation crashes in the nation. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "You think that it would, but it doesn't," Schaffer-Smith says, holding back tears. Family and friends of Flight 255 victims gathered at the memorial site for a ceremony at 8 p.m. Wednesday to honor the lives of their loved ones. He and his older brother, Craig, were visiting their parents in Jackson, Michigan, where they also attended a race car event that August. Melvin C. Roundy, 53, Mesa, off-duty Northwest employe. But many remain, clustered in their hotels or at the airport lounge, exchanging stories and compassion with strangers who share their tragedy. First Officer David J. Dodds, 35, Galena, Ill. Virginia Robinson, 45, Fountain Valley, Calif. Capt. The crash also took the life of 19-year-old Rhett Bushong of Mission Viejo, who, coincidentally, also had been with his family in Toledo. Cecelia Cichan, whose married name is now Crocker, was the lone survivor of the crash. They text about sports, life events and he attended her wedding in 2006. Ernest John Mathews, 38, Sterling Heights, Mich. Eric Mazade, 30, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. Suzanne Morris, 35, Federal Way, Wash., off-duty Northwest flight attendant. Schaffer-Smith says she was 10 at the time. Everybody was milling around the table trying to see something, Donnie Ratliff said about the scene inside the morgue. About ten minutes before the flight was due to depart the gate, a company transportation agent brought the flight release package to the airplane. Aircraft and crew. [] 1987 8 16, 255 4 . Had the lost passengers been local . August 16, 1987, Northwest Flight 255 crashed shortly after take-off from Detroit Metro Airport. Detroit tower (to Northwest Airlines Flight 766). Terms of Use | Online Privacy Policy, NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, Northwest Flight 255. The Safety Board concluded that the airplane had not encountered a wind shear and directed its investigation elsewhere. So over the years, hes used a website and social media to keep everyone connected. On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 255 was ready for takeoff. Because Flight 2501 originated in New York on route to Seattle, none of the 58 victims was from the local community. The flight's captain, John R. Maus, was an experienced pilot with 31 years of experience with the airline. As the plane rushed down the runway, it lifted only 40 feet off the ground. Ken Haddad is the digital content and audience manager for WDIV / ClickOnDetroit.com. The second ground controller specified the route to runway 3C. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "Walking around down Middlebelt road looking for anyone that we could potentially save and very quickly came to the realization that we were not going to be able to save anybody," said Graves. He also keeps in contact with the other families affected by the tragedy and says he looks forward to visiting the memorial with them every year. Northwest fourteen sixty six so far that's approved I'll advise different. All rights reserved. Relatives took her in, protecting her from the media throughout her childhood. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Want to solve climate change? Northwest Airlines Flight 255 1. Her father, Tom Polec of Rochester Hills, agreed as he surveyed the crowd of supporters. While the plane was taxiing, the pilots got a little lost on their way to the runway. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); Many of the families have kept in touch since the crash and travel to Romulus each year to visit the memorial site erected at Middlebelt Road and Interstate 94 in honor of the victims. , broadcast, rewritten, or the weather, it had to be the takeoff data... To see something, Donnie Ratliff more than 30 of the on-ramps to westbound I-94 an. Seattle, none of the on-ramps to westbound I-94 performance data that in. 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Of use | Online Privacy Policy, NTSB aircraft Accident Report, Northwest, now owned by,... On using either runway 21L or 21R `` you think that it,! Acknowledged the instructions and this time acknowledged the new frequency and switched it!