Delta Air Lines Flight 191
A close-up view of the tail section wreckage | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 2, 1985 |
| Summary | Crashed on approach following loss of control due to microburst induced windshear and decision to fly into severe thunderstorm |
| Site | |
| Total fatalities | 137 |
| Total injuries | 26 |
| Aircraft | |
| N726DA, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in February 1985 | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar |
| Operator | Delta Air Lines |
| IATA flight No. | DL191 |
| ICAO flight No. | DAL191 |
| Call sign | DELTA 191 |
| Registration | N726DA |
| Flight origin | Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport |
| Stopover | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport |
| Destination | Los Angeles International Airport |
| Occupants | 163 |
| Passengers | 152 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 136 |
| Injuries | 25 |
| Survivors | 27 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 1 |
| Ground injuries | 1 |
Delta Air Lines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Los Angeles, California, with an intermediate stop at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). On August 2, 1985, the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar operating Flight 191 encountered a microburst while on approach to land at DFW. The aircraft impacted ground just over one mile (1.6 km) short of the runway, struck a car near the airport, collided with two water tanks and disintegrated. Out of the 163 occupants on board, 136 people died and 25 others were injured in the accident, while the driver of the car struck by the aircraft also died.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the crash resulted from the flight crew's decision to fly through a thunderstorm, the lack of procedures or training to avoid or escape microbursts and the lack of hazard information on wind shear. Forecasts of microbursts improved in the following years, with the 1994 crash of USAir Flight 1016 being the only subsequent microburst-induced crash of a commercial, fixed-wing aircraft in the United States as of 2026.