Summary:
On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 255 was ready for takeoff. With a full flight of passengers ready for departure and an experienced crew in the cockpit, their flight from Detroit to Phoenix was set to be smooth- once they got above the thunderstorms drenching the airport. Was that the reason the plane spent only 30 seconds in the air before crashing to the ground? This week's episode of Take to the Sky: The Air Disaster Podcast has plot twists, turns, and unimaginable surprises. Join us as we look at who was on board, why the crash happened, and what its legacy means to safe air travel today.Listen, Review, and Subscribe on:
Sources consulted for this story:
- National Transportation Safety Board: Aircraft Accident Report
- Michigan Radio: Families of Flight 255 victims wait 26 years to hear sole survivor speak
- Click On Detroit: 32 years ago: Northwest Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metro Airport
- The Detroit News: 30 years later: Flight 255 bonds victims' families
- Federal Aviation Administration: Lessons Learned
- ABC News: Cecelia Crocker, Other Plane Crash 'Sole Survivors' Share Tales of Guilt, Pain and Triumph
- News-Herald: Death and destruction lined Middlebelt Road 30 years ago after flight 255 crash
- Los Angeles Times: Flight 255: Life or Death Turned on Twists of Fate
- AP: Grandfather Identifies Girl As Sole Survivor Of Jet Crash With PM-Plane Crash
- The Washington Post: Crew of Doomed Flight Apparently Skipped Checklist
- SunSentinal: Stunned Relatives Gather, Try to Cope
- NY Daily News: Lone survivor of 1987 Mich. plane crash breaks silence
Show Notes:
Shelly shared a great book she read called The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, which is the author's story of her decades of survivor's guilt and flashbacks following her imprisonment at Auschwitz. It's an incredible read.Stephanie mentioned a popular meme that questions whether we really need to cancel 2020 after all- maybe it's just the year we have been waiting for. We found it to share with you.
Credits:
Written and produced by: Shelly Price and Stephanie HubkaDirected and engineered by: Crosse deStreit, Salmon Pond Studios
Sound editing by: Stephanie Hubka
Graphic design and website by: Adam Hubka
Music by: Mike Dunn
Northwest Airlines Flight 255. Source: NY Daily News Dale Atkins/AP
Aerial view of the airport. Image Source: FAA.gov
Northwest Airlines Flight 255. Source: Living Safely with Human Error
Image Source: Living Safely with Human Error
