37 years since all but one passenger killed in Northwest Flight 255 crash at Detroit Metro Airport
(CBS DETROIT) - It has been 37 years since Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed after taking off from Detroit Metro Airport, marking the deadliest plane crash in Michigan's history.
All but one passenger, a 4-year-old child, were killed in the tragic accident.
Flight 255 crashes just after takeoff
Flight 255 was a regularly scheduled flight from Saginaw to Santa, California, with stops in Detroit and Phoenix, Arizona.
At about 8:44 p.m. on Aug. 16, 1987, the flight was cleared for takeoff from Detroit to Phoenix, with 149 passengers and six crew members aboard the flight.
Witnesses reported that Flight 255 lifted off near the end of the runway, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
"After liftoff, the airplane rolled to the left, rolled to the right, and then collided with obstacles northeast of the runway when the left wing struck a light pole located 2,760 feet beyond the end of the runway," according to the NTSB. "Thereafter, the airplane struck other light poles, the roof of a rental car facility, and then the ground. The airplane broke up as it slid across the ground, and post-impact fires erupted along the wreckage path."
All but one passenger, 4-year-old killed in Flight 255 crash
After striking the roof of a rental car building, the plane crashed onto Middlebelt Road at about 8:46 p.m. Flames erupted across the plane's wreckage path. Three occupied vehicles on the road and several unoccupied vehicles in the rental car facility's lot were destroyed, according to the NTSB.
All crew members and 148 passengers were killed. A 4-year-old child was the only passenger who survived the crash.
Two people who were on the ground were killed, one person was severely injured, and four sustained minor injuries.
NTSB Investigation on Flight 255
An investigation by the NTSB revealed that the "probable cause" of the tragic crash was that the crew failed to use the taxi checklist and ensure that the flaps and slats were extended before the flight.
In addition, the investigation found that Flight 255's takeoff warning system was without power, which contributed to the crash because crew members weren't alerted that the plane wasn't "configured properly" for takeoff, according to the NTSB. Investigators couldn't figure out why this system was without power.
Firefighter reflects on Flight 255 crash
Last year, firefighter John Thiede, one of the first Romulus firefighters to arrive at the crash scene, reflected on the tragedy.
Thiede, who was 21 at the time of the accident, recalled finding 4-year-old Cecilia Cichan, the sole survivor of the crash.
"There was a seat upside down, and we moved the chair and checked underneath the chair. When we looked, a hand was coming out from the chair that she was in," Thiede told CBS Detroit last year.
Family members gather near where the crash happened every year to keep their memories alive.
