![]() Aftermath of the Flight 255 crash: Aircraft debris field scattered along Middlebelt Road. The near bridge is the Norfolk Southern railroad, and the far bridges are the I-94 freeway. | |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | August 16, 1987 |
Summary | Crashed on takeoff due to improper flaps and slats configuration[1] |
Site | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Detroit, Michigan, United States 42°14′24″N 83°19′40″W / 42.2400°N 83.3277°W |
Total fatalities | 156 |
Total injuries | 6 |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas MD-82 |
Operator | Northwest Airlines |
IATA flight No. | NW255 |
ICAO flight No. | NWA255 |
Call sign | NORTHWEST 255 |
Registration | N312RC[2] |
Flight origin | MBS International Airport, Saginaw, Michigan, United States |
1st stopover | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan, United States |
Last stopover | Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
Destination | John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California, United States |
Occupants | 155 |
Passengers | 149 |
Crew | 6 |
Fatalities | 154 |
Injuries | 1 |
Survivors | 1 |
Ground casualties | |
Ground fatalities | 2 |
Ground injuries | 5 |
On August 16, 1987, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, about 8:46 pm EDT (00:46 UTC August 17), resulting in the deaths of all six crew members and 148 of the 149 passengers, along with two people on the ground. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident at the time in the United States.[3][4] It is also the deadliest aviation accident to have a sole survivor,[5][a] the deadliest plane crash in the history of the state of Michigan,[6] and the worst crash in the history of Northwest Airlines.
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