In August 1985, Delta Flight 191 was approaching the Dallas/Fort Worth airport when the pilots noticed a small thunderstorm forming in their path. As the Lockheed L-1011 passed under the clouds, it suddenly lost velocity and began plummeting to earth. The resulting crash killed 134 passengers and crew, at the time the highest death toll for a single-plane accident. Investigators attributed the incident to wind shear, the phenomenon that occurs when a thunderstorm releases a sudden downdraft of cold air. Although wind shear was suspected as the cause of many previous accidents, the phenomenon was not well understood, and pilots and air traffic controllers didn’t fully appreciate the risks.
The detailed analysis of the Flight 191 crash finally proved just how deadly thunderstorms could be for planes flying at low altitudes. Efforts to prevent further accidents tackled both human and technological factors. Pilots and air traffic controllers began working harder to avoid storms. Flight-training programs were revised. The Federal Aviation Administration installed Doppler radar systems—which can detect downdrafts—at major airports. It worked. The U.S. has not had a commercial aviation crash due to wind shear since 1994.
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James B. Meigs is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor.
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