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American Airlines Flight 96 was a regular McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 flight operated by American Airlines. On June 12, 1972, the aircraft's rear cargo door blew off while flying over Windsor, Ontario, en route from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport; it is thus sometimes referred to as the Windsor incident.〔Nicholas Faith (1996, 1998). ''Black Box'': pp.157-158〕 The rapid decompression in the cargo hold caused a partial collapse of the passenger compartment floor, which in turn jammed or restricted some of the control cables which led to various flight control hydraulic actuators. The jamming of the rudder control cable caused the rudder to deflect to its maximum right position. The cable controls to the number two (tail) engine were severed, causing that engine to shut down.〔 〕 Fortunately, there was no rupture of any hydraulic system, so the pilots still had control of the ailerons, the right elevator and the horizontal stabilizer. However, because the right elevator cable was partially restricted, both pilots had to apply back pressure on the yoke for the landing flare. Additionally, the approach and landing had to be made at high speed, to prevent the sink rate from becoming too high. The tendency to turn right was offset by using 45 degrees of left aileron, combined with asymmetrical thrust of the two wing engines. In spite of the partial restriction of the controls, the pilots were able to make a safe landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport with no major injuries. The cause was later traced to the door latching system, which had failed to close completely. A separate locking system was supposed to ensure this could not happen, but proved to be inadequate. McDonnell Douglas instituted a number of minor changes to the system in an attempt to avoid a repeat, but two years later, on March 3rd, 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981's rear cargo door blew off for exactly the same reason, causing the aircraft to lose all control and slam into a forest outside Paris, killing all 346 people on board, which was the deadliest plane crash in aviation history until the Tenerife disaster, and was deadliest single aircraft crash until Japan Airline Flight 123. ==Incident details== Flight 96 was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles to LaGuardia Airport with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Buffalo Niagara International Airport. On 12 June, it was being flown by DC-10-10 N103AA, with a flight crew consisting of Captain Bryce McCormick, age 52, First Officer Peter Whitney, age 34, and Flight Engineer Clayton Burke, age 50. McCormick was a highly experienced pilot, having amassed more than 24,000 flight hours throughout his flying career. Whitney and Burke were also seasoned airmen with approximately 7,900 flight hours and 13,900 flight hours, respectively, under their belts. Between them, the crew had accumulated 176 hours of flight time in the DC-10.〔http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR73-02.pdf〕 The flight left Los Angeles 46 minutes after its scheduled 1:30 pm departure due to passenger loading and traffic, arriving in Detroit at 6:36 pm. At Detroit, the majority of the passengers disembarked, and the plane took on new passengers and cargo. Leaving Detroit the aircraft had 56 passengers and 11 crew. The flight departed at 7:20 pm, climbing to 6,000 for a hold before capturing V-554 (a victor airway), then climb to flight level 210 (21,000 ft).〔 At 7:25 pm, while climbing through 11,750 ft at 260 knots, the crew heard a distinct "thud" and dirt in the cockpit flew up into their faces. The "thud" was the sound of the rearmost cargo door breaking off, causing a sudden decompression that also caused part of the floor at the rear of the cabin to partially give way. Captain McCormick momentarily believed they had suffered a mid-air collision and the cockpit windows had been smashed. At the same time, the rudder pedals moved to their full-left position and the engine controls moved to idle. McCormick immediately took manual control of the aircraft, and attempted to re-apply power, finding that engines 1 and 3 would respond normally, but engine 2, in the tail, would not allow its controls to be moved, as control cables had been severed when the floor gave way. McCormick was able to level off and stabilize the speed at 250 knots, although at this speed control was very sluggish. They declared an emergency and requested routing back to Detroit.〔Air Disaster Volume 1, Chapter 15, pg.137 & 138. Macarthur Job - Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd 1994 ISBN 1-875671-11-0〕 In the cabin, the flight attendants saw a "fog" form within the cabin and immediately recognized it as a depressurization. Two crew were in the rear lounge area, and the floor under their feet partially collapsed into the cargo hold, giving them both minor injuries. In spite of this, the cabin crew immediately attempted to ensure the oxygen masks had deployed properly, but having occurred below the 14,000 ft limit, the masks had not deployed. One of the attendants obtained a walk-around oxygen bottle and called the cockpit on the intercom to inform them that the damage was in the rear of the aircraft. On instructions from the cockpit, the attendants instructed the passengers on emergency landing procedures. A number of passengers later reported that the aircraft safety cards proved useful in locating the nearest exit. A casket with a body of a woman who has died out of state fell from the cargo hold and fell to the ground near Windsor, Canada. The flight returned to Detroit, but when the crew set the flaps to 35 degrees for landing, the aircraft stabilized in a 1,900 ft/min descent that was far too fast for landing. By applying power to the 1 and 3 engines, McCormick was able to level off the nose and reduce the descent to 700 ft/min. The aircraft touched down at 7:44 pm 1,900 ft down Runway 03R, immediately veering to the right and eventually leaving the runway surface. First Officer Whitney applied full reverse thrust to the left engine and idled the right, straightening the aircraft's path, and eventually starting to bring the aircraft back to the runway. The aircraft stopped 880 ft from the runway threshold, with the nose and left gear on the runway and the right on the grass beside it.〔Air Disaster Volume 1, Chapter 15, pg.139. Macarthur Job - Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd 1994 ISBN 1-875671-11-0〕 It happened that while training to convert his expertise to flying the DC-10, McCormick had practiced, in a simulator, controlling the plane with the throttles in this fashion, in the worst-case scenario of a hydraulic failure.〔 A similar technique was used on another DC-10 in 1989 following a complete loss of hydraulic pressure on United Airlines Flight 232. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American Airlines Flight 96」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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