American Airlines Flight 191 -- May 25, 1979

One of the best things about blogging are the connections I make with people.  There is nothing better than getting an email or comment from someone who relates to my world or just enjoys reading about my life.  I had said it before, and I will say it again: people fascinate me. I like people and the stories they have to share.  The more you get to know someone, the more you learn about life.

Recently, one of my blog readers, Sue, made contact via email.  After a number of email exchanges, she told me that she witnessed the American Airlines Flight 191 at O'Hare Airport.   I asked her to write a guest blog.  What a story to share!  What a way to learn about life!

To give a brief summary of AA Flight 191:
- May 25, 1979
- DC-10 ORD bound for Los Angeles
- at takeoff rotation, the left engine separated from the wing and flipped over the wing
- due to the separation, hydraulic lines were severed on the wing which caused the slats to retract. 
- the left wing was in a stall due to the position of the slats, and the right wing continued to produce lift
- the aircraft rolled and eventually crashed into an open field
- all 258 passengers died, along with 13 crew members. In addition, two men were killed on the ground.
- here is a Wikipedia link for more detail.

 source

I want to thank Sue for her courage in writing her story.  I could only imagine how hard it is to recall what was seen that day.  I also want to thank Sue for taking the time to share her story.  Without further ado, the Crash of American Airlines Flight 191, as see through the eyes of Sue:

Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been fascinated by 2 things: airplanes and astronomy. Now, at 57 years old, my neck is very arthritic and I’m convinced it’s from spending most of my life looking up at the sky with my head and neck bent back in the “fully upright and locked position”. But it’s been worth it.

Even though I’m fascinated by airplanes, I never felt particularly comfortable flying because of all the thunderstorms, tornadoes, incessant winds, blizzards, and other assorted weather that occurs here in Chicago. But my main concern with those things was that they would cause a lot of turbulence and I’d end up launching my lunch onto the back of the poor soul seated in front of me. I never worried about planes crashing because that always happened “somewhere else”. But that all changed on a gorgeous sunny day; May 25, 1979.

At the time, I lived very close to KORD near the end of runway 32R. Whenever I could I’d go down Mount Prospect Road to Touhy Avenue, near the edge of the airfield, and watch the planes take off.  What a rush!!  On that particular day I got home from work shortly before 3 PM. Moments later, American Airlines FLT 191 took off from 32R, rolled over onto its left side, and crashed into a nearby field. Fortunately, due to some trees, I didn’t see it hit the ground directly. I ran over to the field but the heat from all the fire was far too intense and an unbelievable amount of thick black smoke was everywhere. An engine was lying in the middle of the street. I stood there looking at it, completely stunned. Others who were standing nearby had the same look of shock on their faces. There was an eerie silence. No one spoke. As in most cases, whenever the mind gets overwhelmed by events, it tends to revert to sort of a numb state. At least, that’s how it was for me. Hundreds of ambulances came from all over and completely filled Touhy Avenue, a lengthy four lane highway. After a while I wondered why some of them weren’t leaving and taking the injured to the hospital. Certainly some people must have survived! Then I saw two priests walking away from the crash site; one had his arm around the shoulder of the other. They were both crying uncontrollably. Then I knew why none of the ambulances were leaving.

To this day I can’t drive by that location without feeling a deep sense of sorrow. I can’t really talk about the crash in much detail without shaking badly. I still have frequent nightmares about it. Whenever I fly somewhere I have to shut my eyes during takeoff so that I won’t see if the plane starts to roll. Despite all this I truly believe that flying is the safest form of transportation. From reading another blog, FL390, I’ve gained a much better insight into the incredible amount of training pilots have had as well as the sophistication and safety systems built into today’s aircraft. Because of what I’ve learned from that blog I don’t worry quite as much as I used to. But still, it’s hard.

From that horrible experience I learned an important lesson about how fragile life is, and how things can change in an instant. Of course my “head” knew that, even before the crash. But after the crash, my heart finally knew it. Today, I try not to take the people in my life for granted. I no longer assume that loved ones “just know” that I love them. Now I make sure to tell them.

--Sue

Mount Prospect, IL