Wind Shear Is Another Matter Altogether

On August 2, 1985, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011, crashed while approaching the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas. While passing through the rain shaft beneath a thunderstorm, Flight 191 entered a microburst, which the crew was unable to traverse successfully. Of the 163 aboard, 134 passengers and crew died; 26 passengers and three cabin attendants survived.

Key Takeaways:

• Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed in 1985 during approach to DFW after encountering a microburst within a thunderstorm, killing 134 people.
• The NTSB cited the crew's decision to continue the approach into a cumulonimbus cloud with visible lightning, a lack of specific wind shear guidelines and training, and insufficient real-time hazard information as probable causes.
• The article emphasizes that microbursts and wind shear, characterized by rapidly descending air from violent storms causing sudden and significant wind shifts, pose a serious threat to all aircraft during takeoff and landing.

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