Delta 191: A Sad Anniversary

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Courtesy: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Used with permission
Today is the 35th anniversary of the crash at Delta 191 at DFW International Airport. The crash killed   136. Twenty-five were injured; some of the injuries were horrific.

This event was one of the most important in the history of aviation safety. The data collected evaluated Dr. Ted Fujita's hypothesis that downbursts were responsible for an increasing number of airliner crashes. Once this was finally accepted, effective measures could be taken to stop the crashes. Only one has occurred since, in 1994.

Downbursts are just as dangerous as ever. There was a downburst-related crash in Mexico in 2018. It is a combination of training and technology that has allowed us to conquer them in the United States. I devote three chapters of Warnings to this scientific success story. I covered this topic on this blog on past anniversaries:
It is a terrible thing to lose a friend or family member in an airline crash. I hope for survivors and relatives of those killed find some small measure of solace in the fact that this crash led to the elimination of future crashes. 

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