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 after entering a microburst during approach to Dallas/Fort Worth, killing 134 people.
• The NTSB determined probable causes included the flight crew's decision to approach into a cumulonimbus cloud and a lack of specific guidelines, training, and real-time information for avoiding and escaping low-altitude wind shear.
• The article stresses that wind shear (microbursts, gust fronts) is a dangerous phenomenon involving rapidly descending air and drastic wind changes, posing a significant threat to all aircraft during takeoff and landing.

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