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The Power of Wind Sheer and Thunderstoms involving aircraft. Rememembering Delta Flight 191

  • Web Diva
    Leader
    September 2, 2023 11:34 AM CDT
    August 2, 1985, one of the worst aviation crashes occurred at the DFW airport. An unexpected wind sheer anomaly and a pop up thunderstorm was responsible for bringing down Delta Flight 191 arriving at DFW from Florida.

    https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/delta-191-36-years-ago-today/2704391/


    Those who investigated the crash would later learn the plane had been struck by a microburst, a sudden rush of air pushing toward the ground spreads out in all directions after hitting the surface. That disruption forced the pilot off course and to lose control of the plane.

    The aircraft first sped up and then was slowed down by wind shear. As it veered off course, the aircraft clipped a car on State Highway 114, killing a driver, before bouncing into a water tank and exploding on the north side of the airport.


    I remember this crash so well when it happened and particularly the horrible death of the driver on the highway which this article doesn't detail.

    Wind shear is very powerful and can create a tremendous danger to aircraft.


    The crash, which killed 137 people and injured 26 others, drew attention to ways to better detect wind shear and other weather phenomena and brought about many improvements to emergency response vehicles and rescue techniques.


    A video with more detail on the crash:


    https://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/weather-connection/nbc-5-takes-you-inside-the-storm-with-new-weekly-short-story-series-available-on-ott-streaming-apps/2643296/


    What exactly happened:


    The aircraft first sped up and then was slowed down by wind shear. As it veered off course, the aircraft clipped a car on State Highway 114, killing a driver, before bouncing into a water tank and exploding on the north side of the airport.