- Date
- August 16, 1987, 20:45 local (Aug 17, 1987, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- Romulus, MI
- Injuries
- 156 fatal, 2 serious, 4 minor; on the ground: 2 fatal, 1 serious, 4 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N312RCMcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19870816056669A
- Case key
- 15885
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The Safety Board's full report on this investigation is provided as Aviation Accident Report number AAR-88/05. To obtain a copy of this report, or to view the executive summary online, please see the Web site at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm
Northwest flt 255 (NW255) crashed after takeoff fm rwy 3C at detroit metro airport. Witnesses said NW255 rotated for takeoff 1200-1500 ft from the end and lifted off nr the end of the 8500 ft rwy. After liftoff, the wings rocked lt and rt and the acft failed to climb normally. 18 feet of the lt wing separated when the wing contacted a light pole 2760 ft beyond the rwy end. The acft rolled steeply to the left and struck poles, a bldg, and automobiles before crashing into a railroad embankment. The acft was destroyed. The evidence indicated that the flaps and slats were in the up/retract position and had not been deployed for tkof. Neither plt recited the items of the taxi cklist. Stall warnings were annunciated but an aural tkof warning was not annunciated by the central aural warning system (caws). It was confirmed that 28 volt DC pwr was not provided to the caws pwr supply #2. The reason for the loss of electrical pwr was traced to a circuit brkr but no malf of the cb was fnd. For further information, see NTSB/AAR-88/05.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N312RC
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 48090
- Airframe hours
- 14,928
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-217, 20,850 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Northwest Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · August 15, 1987 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- DTW · Detroit, MI
- Destination
- PHX · Pheonix, AZ
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DTW · Detroit Metro Wayne Cnty, runway 3C, 8,500 × 200 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 20,859 total · 9,459 in this make and model · 160 in the last 90 days · 87 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 300° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DTW, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.