Supporting Teaching And Learning In Schools Level 3 Assignment 1, Boost Properties Flats To Rent In Hillbrow, Prague Times Herald Obituaries, Delta Airlines Alaska Resident Offer, Mark Allen Obituary La Crosse, Wi, Articles P

Near me a very visibly shaken woman walked with the help of her neighbors. At 4:02, the controller received a wind shear alert. He called his radio station to find out what was going on. Surely it must be farther out in the distance. All 145 on board and 8 people on the . James L. Boyer - News Director, WWL-TV. To the left, Dorris Vidrine, his wife and their four children jumped to safety through their picture window as the plane exploded into the home. [1]:1.1 Another 4 people on the ground sustained injuries. Pan Am Flight 759 took off from New Orleans International Airport in heavy thunderstorms for Las Vegas just after 4 p.m. on July 9, 1982, and crashed about one minute later. Nevertheless, Captain McCullers advised First Officer Pierce, who was flying the plane, to build up more speed before lifting off to give them a bigger margin if they encountered wind shear. Accept Responsibility for Crash", "$10.1 Million Awarded In a Pan Am Air Crash", "The Best That We Can Do: Taming the Microburst Windshear", "List of Victims of the Crash of Pan American World Airways Flight 759 in Kenner, La., as Released by the Airline", "Former HHS teacher makes movie about Kenner tragedy", Pre-crash photos of #N4737 at airliners.net, The Times-Picayune 1982: Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pan_Am_Flight_759&oldid=1137768703, # = Nonpertinent word; * = Unintelligible word; () = Questionable text; (( )) = Commentary; --- = pause; Shading = Radio communication, ((Sound of windshield wipers begins and continues to end of tape)), ((Click)) ((Windshield wiper speed Increases)), ((Clunk sound attributed to nose strut topping)), (Come on back you're sinking Don - come on back), ((Thump sound attributed to nose gear striking up locks)). Pan Am Flight 759 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Miami to San Diego, with en route stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas. All 145 on board and 8 people on the ground were killed. -- Sandy Giancontieri was at home with her three young sons. I never saw them again.". Here are his remembrances of that day. Now they were gone. The images were horrific: so much confusion, so much carnage. The captain was 45-year-old Kenneth L. McCullers, who had 11,727 flying hours, including 10,595 hours on the Boeing 727. For several hours, the search proved fruitless. A blast of flames incinerated Mrs. Giancontieri and her sons, Robbie, 7, Ryan, 4, and Christopher, 4 months. However, the study found that wind shear on takeoff was even more dangerous than wind shear on approach. And anytime a plane sits on a runway because they have to wait out the thunderstorm thats another survivor.. Every. He also ordered Flight Engineer Noone to turn off the air conditioning so that they would have more engine power. Anxiety rules the situation; logic and experience formulate decisions. News Director Jim Boyer made sure the decision was firm and swift. You're in the crash site, he said. A few seconds before 4:08, Pan Am flight 759 began its takeoff roll on runway 10, heading east against a 16-knot headwind. The next question, then, was how to decrease that reaction time. N4737, the aircraft involved pictured in May 1982, two months before the accident. Banking left, the plane struck another set of trees then rolled inverted, its left wingtip slicing into the ground. But if the pilots reaction time had been a little bit faster even than that, the descent and collision with trees might have been avoided. Then, other police and fire radio reports indicated a larger plane has crashed in Kenner - a suburb of New Orleans. DeJesus, Hector, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Decisions are made quickly just to get the juggernaut of the newsroom moving. I called out to Dennis, give me more cable. Clipper Definance vs. The small house to my right was still on fire. An elderly neighbor, Mrs. Joseph Crocker, sat on her back porch opening mail. Large clumps of wood were smoking from the flames, and the flames were everywhere. Ted Saari was the engineer. July 9.1982: I started the morning filming a story on an unusual radiation spike discovered in the Mississippi River by a University of New Orleans researcher. Flight 759 lifted off the runway, climbed to an altitude of between 95 and 150 feet (29 and 46m), and then began to descend. In the traffic congestion I noticed several ambulances trying to get through the same traffic that we were trying to get through. The name of every victim appears on the wall. 1. On July 9, 1982 the plane as forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff, and crashed into a suburb of Kenner. According to witnesses, Clipper 759 lifted off about 7,000 feet down runway 10, climbed in a wings-level attitude, reached an altitude of about 100 feet to 150 feet above the ground and then began to descend. It was a significant story because we were following reported increased levels of pollution in the river. On the day of the crash, the New Orleans National Meteorological Center issued a weather forecast which stated that there would be thunderstorms that day, which may cause severe turbulence. Bob Walker, a 36-year-old disc jockey for WTIX radio, was driving to his home in Metairie's Bissonet Plaza in July 1982 when he saw the smoke plumes and smelled something burning. Minutes later, it smashed into a Kenner neighborhood, leaving in its path a three-block area of devastation and horror. Give me more cable, I cried out to the truck engineer as I tried to find the center of destruction. The passage of time has not dulled Walker's sense of gratitude at the act of fate that kept him off that particular flight. Everyone in the newsroom not dedicated to a story that day listened intensely. Lisa died in less than 12 hours. The pilots of flight 759 heard the report and continued with their takeoff preparations. It was a significant story because we were following reported increased levels of pollution in the river. 144. Once again, a microburst had brought down a passenger plane belonging to a major US airline. The rain was intense and brutal. 43. It was one of the deadliest airplane crashes in the history of the U.S. Flight 759 crashed a couple doors down from the intersection of Fairway Street and 17th Street, destroying a house at 1624 Fairway. Out of an abundance of caution, they decided to make their initial turn to the north instead of to the south to avoid storm cells to the south and southeast of the airport. "I was born in 1984, two years after the crash.". All were very experienced; McCullers had over 11,000 flying hours, Pierce had more than 6,000, and Noone had more than the other two put together. It was July 9,1982, and at almost 4 p.m. on a windy and rainy Friday, a fully loaded Pan American Boeing 727 began its final takeoff from the New Orleans International Airport. Based in California, US, Trijet Tragedy: How Pan Am Flight 759 Became 1982's Deadliest Aviation Disaster, microburst-induced wind shear during takeoff, SWISS Reveals New Airbus A330 Cabin Designs, United Airlines To Increase Guam-Japan Flights This Summer, Uganda Airlines Reinstates Fifth Johannesburg Flight, A Brief Guide To The Airbus A320 Family's Main Variants, On This Day In 1990 Smoking Was Banned On US Domestic Flights Of Less Than 6 Hours, What Happened To The Led Zeppelin Boeing 720? Where are the houses? I kept thinking to myself, trying to get as much cable from the microwave truck as I could. KENNER, LA The City of Kenner will honor the victims of Pan Am Flight 759 during a memorial service on Saturday, the 40th anniversary of the crash that killed 145 people. Planned in chaos, almost a contradiction in terms, but that is how newsrooms function under extreme pressure. 118. Six houses had been totally destroyed and five others were severely damaged, and there was hardly anything left of the 727, save for the tail. The crash killed all 146 other people aboard the. However, development of reliable wind shear detection systems and enhanced flight directors dragged on for several years. After a few weeks of concern, the story vanished from the headlines and memory. It then merged with Pan Am in 1980, and as a result, the aircraft transferred its registration to Pan American Airways. And unlike many crashes where those responsible try to dodge blame, Pan Am and the US government accepted responsibility and paid out millions in settlements to relatives of the victims, even though it could have been argued that no one was directly at fault. However, this instrument doesnt take into account environmental factors, such as wind shear, in its calculations. The wind was whipping the rain into sheets of vertical water spray. Back at WWL-TV the late-afternoon editing crunch started. Family members of victims along with local officials and others gather at a memorial service at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on Monday, July 9, 2012 to mark the 30th anniversary of Pan Am Flight 759 crash in Kenner. Example video title will go here for this video. They jumped out of their police units without donning their rain gear. They were on their way to San Diego to bury their brother. 15. Because of the severe weather conditions, our destination time to the point of our assignment was going to be delayed. The police radio bristled heavily with increased activity. He took the job and called Pan Am on Thursday to cancel the tickets, a day before that fateful flight. Join the discussion of this article on reddit! All they could find were bodies, from both the plane and from Kenner. "I often wonder to this day about the poor couple that got our seats, because they were probably happy that they had seats available," Walker said. No fronts or low pressure areas were within 100 nautical miles (120mi; 190km) of the airport. Life is all about timing. WWL-TV photographer Brian Lukas was the first live camera on the scene bringing the images of that tragedy to the concerned viewers in the New Orleans region. A strong front was moving in, and I gave thanks that I had finished filming for the day. That Saturday, during the wedding reception of a woman whose name he no longer remembers, he thanked the family for saving his life. And then flight 759 runs out of altitude and crashes into a residential neighbourhood killing 154 people on board and 8 people on the ground. 137. And people still fondly remember Melissa Trahan as the miracle baby, although she is now an adult with kids of her own. They were heroic in their response. In 1979, the Federal Aviation Administration published an advisory circular explaining that the best way to deal with wind shear is to sacrifice airspeed for altitude. The rain only made it harder to navigate through the maze of cars and trucks as they improvised their driving habits to escape the oncoming approach of the emergency vehicles. Every year after July 9, 1982, memorial services would be held for the victims and families of those who perished on Pan Am Flight 759 in Kenner. Then, after a long pause, I realized that in front of me lay nearly 160 souls who, just moments before, were in transit from one destination to another or just playing in their yards, maybe even doing their laundry or watching TV. Now they were gone. Many of the victims were living in houses that had been destroyed. They would have to attempt to identify their loved ones, plan and attend their funeral services and try to live on with a void left forever in their lives. This was, as usual, an orchestrated, chaotic ritual met in daily fashion for the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. show deadlines - reporters hastily finishing scripts, which are reviewed by producers, then given to the editors, who in turn gave the completed story to the broadcast engineer. Im just glad that call came when it did, and my dad chose the gig!, Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. Across the quiet middle-class neighborhood, families were preparing for dinner. In fact, the authors of the study wrote, A major conclusion, over all the tests, was that conventional instrumentation was found inadequate for coping with wind shear during approach and landing. 62. [5] In total, six houses were destroyed; five houses were damaged substantially.[6]. The aircraft continued descending for another 2,234 feet (681m), hitting trees and houses. The race to an undetermined scene in Kenner was on. A few houses away, Jennifer Schultz was making a telephone call under a carport. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Mamie, Addis, La. Give me more cable, I cried out to the truck engineer as I tried to find the center of destruction. Most had jobs at the airport, so the seemed the price they paid for their short drive to work. 113. Anything above level 3 was to be avoided at all costs. Then, other police and fire radio reports indicated a larger plane has crashed in Kenner - a suburb of New Orleans. Wind shear, on the most basic level, is a significant difference in wind speed and/or direction within a narrow geographical area. As I finished getting the various river shots needed to flesh out the scenes covering the river segments, I noticed the ominous black clouds slowly approaching the city from a distance. Everyone moved to the side of the road to let the emergency vehicles scurry by. __________________________________________________________________. All rights reserved. Dennis looked at me in amazement. Initially it was assumed by the assignment desk and by the manner of the dispatcher's voice that a small plane crashed at a location still undetermined. On the afternoon of July 9, 1982, shortly after Pan American World Airlines (Pan Am) Flight 759 lifted off the runway with 146 passengers and crew en route from New Orleans to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Boeing 727 crashed into a suburban neighborhood in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all on board and eight on the ground. The state health department is also concerned. 68. No time to put rain gear on, we had to move fast, so I placed a cover on top of my camera and lashed the video cables to my belt moving between the burning houses. Had a small or medium-sized aircraft crashed? Retired Kenner firefighter Michael Mumphrey adjusts some flowers at the memorial outside the church. The first rescuers on the scene were faced with total pandemonium. The crash of Pan Am Flight 759 in Kenner brought attention to the dangers of wind shear, at the time a little-understood thunderstorm phenomenon that knocked a jet plane out of the sky. The details of the story were still incomplete. The headwind increases airspeed and therefore increases lift, making it easy to fly into. Some residents of Kenner never knew what hit them. 32. "I didn't know that woman, I didn't know anyone in her family. This year, I will be 72 - 36 years since the flight happened.". In the newsroom it was calculated chaos brewing in a disjointed yet planned manner. "The person who simply called my dad touched my two-years-away life in a way he never even knew," Shaun Walker wrote in a Facebook post. It burned a path between two trees and plowed a 10-foot gash in a yard before crashing. Advertisement. Remembering Pan Am flight 759, 40 years later 1,735 views Jul 7, 2022 30 Dislike Share Save WWLTV 216K subscribers 40 years ago, July 9, 1982, Pan Am flight 759 took off from Moisant airport in. It was a way of connecting and honoring the heroic efforts of the first responders and understanding the horrific loss to the victim's families. Its easy to blame the pilot, but he didnt wanna die either, said their daughter Julia. Daniel joins the Simple Flying team having previously written for publications such as the BBC. A handout photo by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office of the crash of flight 759 in 1982. But most of the passengers were going to Las Vegas for vacations and gambling. This study found that without any airborne detection technology, pilots were often unable to handle significant wind shear. The passenger jet encountered strong winds from a thunderstorm that caused the aircraft to rapidly lose altitude and speed. [9], As a result, millions of dollars were paid out as compensation to various families affected by the crash. In light of all of these factors, it seemed Captain McCullers made a reasonable decision based on the information he had, and he appeared to be aware of and ready for the possibility of wind shear. But directly in front of me were concrete cinder blocks on fire. It will be shown in 2022 for the 40th anniversary of the crash at the West Bank Regional Library in Harvey, Louisiana at 9:00am, Saturday, July 9th. The race to an undetermined scene in Kenner was on. 133. The investigation highlighted the risk of what was then a poorly understood phenomenon, and found that the disaster could have been prevented if the FAA had acted sooner and even then, change wouldnt come until microbursts had killed again. And the debris continued as far as I could see. In the newsroom it was calculated chaos brewing in a disjointed yet planned manner. Fijut, James P., 37, steward, Miramar, Fla. 6. Nearby at Gabriel Trahan's house, Trahan's wife, Melanie, was watching over 4-year-old Bridgette as 16-month-old Melissa napped in her crib. However, this would require advance knowledge of its presence, and as stated earlier, a microburst doesnt necessarily show up on ground-based wind shear alert systems until its too late. He said, '759.'". But Pan-American Flight 759 crashed moments after takeoff, about a half-mile east of what was then called New Orleans International Airport. The crash, unfortunately, claimed the lives of all 138 passengers and 7 crew onboard. M.L., Adelaide, Australia. Copyright 2022 WVUE. The city is . He was one of the first responders at the crash site. A lower angle of attack means less lift, and the plane descends. Noone, Leo B., 60, flight engineer, Miami, Fla. 4. [1]:7879 All three flight crew, including the captain, the first officer and the second officer, were reported having no sleep or health problems, and had passed all proficiency checks without issues. In the case of Pan Am flight 759, this sequence of shifting winds prevented the plane from ever climbing much over 100 feet above ground level. A level 12 storm will have light to moderate turbulence and lightning, and does not pose a significant threat to an airliner. Therefore, to make a wind shear recovery, pilots had to deviate from the optimal attitude shown on the flight director, a disconnect that increases reaction times. The Tristar crossed a highway, killing a motorist, then crashed into a water tank, destroying the plane. I'm on the air.. His two older siblings - Sherry, a nurse practitioner at Ochsner and Scott, a former television news anchor at WDSU - would have been orphans, Shaun Walker said. Frank, Mrs. M., Frankfurt, West Germany. It was July 9,1982, and at almost 4 p.m. on a windy and rainy Friday, a fully loaded Pan American Boeing 727 began its final takeoff from the New Orleans International Airport. I was glad I was out of that mix today. The minimum plausible reaction time under those circumstances was assessed to be about 4.25 seconds probably not enough to prevent the crash. 40. I would cover and attend several memorial services of that event. Melanie and Bridgette were both killed. Initially it was assumed by the assignment desk and by the manner of the dispatcher's voice that a small plane crashed at a location still undetermined. [1]:78 The First Officer was 32-year-old Donald G. Pierce, who had 6,127 flying hours, including 3,914 hours on the Boeing 727. Captain Kenneth McCullers and First Officer Donald Pierce began their take-off at 4:07 pm, but the crash occurred 2 minutes later, as the aircraft climbed to an altitude of roughly 100 feet before it began to descend. The pilots applied maximum thrust and pitched the nose up to climb. It was one of the deadliest airplane crashes in the history of the U.S. To the right, Jane May escaped through a rear window. NEW YORK -- Following is a list of victims of the crash of Pan American World Airways Flight 759 in Kenner, La., as released by the airline. Unlike some crashes in urban areas, flight 759 is a widely known aspect of the local lore, and still represents a raw moment the areas history. Brown, Lucille V., 35, stewardess, Hollywood, Fla. 7. Walker, a career broadcaster with two young children at the time, had planned a trip to Las Vegas to surprise his school teacher wife, Judy, who'd never been to the casinos. The NTSB also attributed some fault to the National Weather Service (NWS) for not providing accurate weather information to the airport, which then hindered the pilots' performance on the flight. You have permission to edit this article. Shocked residents of Kenner, some of them suffering from severe burns, wandered at the periphery of the devastation. 'It was just a matter of when and where.'. Many officers were soaking wet. Video: Shark feeding frenzy off Louisiana coast a problem for fishermen. [4] The child's mother and 4-year-old sister were killed; the father was at work when the accident occurred. The possibility of such reaction concerns me. By pitching up steeply, pilots can increase the angle of attack to a level that will provide enough lift to maintain altitude. "I wouldn't be here," said 34-year-old Shaun Walker, creative director and founding co-partner with Reid Stone of HEROfarm Marketing, Design and Public Relations. You're in it. This was my first indication that this was a significant and major airplane accident. Pan Am Flight 759 went down shortly after takeoff in a Kenner neighborhood on July 9, 1982, killing all 145 on board. After the publication of the study in 1979, the FAA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking floating the possibility of requiring the installation airborne wind shear detection technology. To the complete disbelief of everyone on the scene, he found 16-month-old Melissa Trahan alive in the rubble of her house, pinned underneath the mattress from her crib, which had flipped over on top of her and sheltered her from the flames. 116. July 13, 1982, Memo To: News Staff involved in the on-the-scene crash coverage. Under massive public pressure in the aftermath of the Delta crash, the FAA accelerated its efforts and met most of the original recommendations from flight 759 by the end of 1986, thanks in large part to an ambitious research program that saw test pilots fly a Boeing 737 into real microbursts around the country. By putting it at the focal point of this article, I hope to provide an alternative perspective to the story of wind shear that gives this tragedy something more than a line or two at the bottom of the page. All of this information was incorporated into Pan Ams flight operations manual, but the manual made no mention of the microburst phenomenon or the conditions associated with it. Correge, Alicia, Montevideo, Uruguay. As I finished getting the various river shots needed to flesh out the scenes covering the river segments, I noticed the ominous black clouds slowly approaching the city from a distance. McCullers was described by others as an "above average" pilot, who was "comfortable" to fly with because of his excellent judgement and ability to exercise command. At 16:09:01, the aircraft crashed into the residential area of Kenner, about 4,610 feet (1,410m) from the end of the runway. "The Starship". It was hours before I realized the degree of destruction I witnessed. Other quick decisions are funneled into a plan of action, a dynamic and fluid process made from the assignment desk. They covered her with a blanket. 'We knew this was going to happen,' said Brent Jacob, a teenage resident of the Kenner neighborhood where Flight 759 came down. Melissa "Missy" Trahan was just 16 months old when she was rescued from the rubble of Pan Am Flight 759 in Kenner, Louisiana, on July 9, 1982. Pan Am 759 air crash. All were very experienced; McCullers had over 11,000 flying . It was sheer confusion. Pan Am flight 759 is part of a category of accidents that can be said to have slipped through the cracks of aviation history. Trying to maneuver out of New Orleans down Airline Highway at the height of rush hour became a daunting task. This is called delayed stress syndrome, and it can affect anyone. The NTSB also examined the question of whether Captain McCullers made the right call in deciding to take off in the first place. Flight 759 suddenly roared through, its fuselage splitting open and spewing flaming fuel. Flight 759 cut a deadly swath through Kenner, destroying six homes and damaging five others in a four-block area less than 5,000 feet from the end of the runway. The plane also demolished the home of the Trahan family, where Melanie Trahan was at home with her daughters Bridgette, 4, and Melissa, 16 months. Pan Am Flight 759 went down shortly after takeoff in a Kenner neighborhood on July 9, 1982, killing all 145 on board. The details of the story were still incomplete. They were heroic in their response. The police and firemen were skirting around the flames looking for survivors. Walker had been moonlighting as a mobile DJ for years to supplement his income, spinning records at parties, dances and the like. The first video of the crash was going to WWL-TV and the viewers. You're in it. With two massive crashes due to wind shear in barely over three years, it was clear that the pace of improvement was not sufficient. But in our deepest sorrow we could never imagine the sense of grief and mental anguish the family members of those who perished on that flight would endure. A fateful phone call kept Radio DJ Bob Walker, lower right, and his wife Judy (in pink) off Pan Am flight 759 that crashed in Kenner shortly after takeoff in 1982. Neither a level 2 nor level 3 cell was considered to be dangerous; the pilots might not have known or did not consider the fact that a cell of any intensity level could produce a microburst. News Director Jim Boyer made sure the decision was firm and swift. Three years later, Pan Am flight 759 was still using the same standard instrumentation that the study found inadequate to help pilots deal with severe wind shear. April 12, 2021 Exclusive for Podcrashers: On July 9, 1982, Pan Am Flight 759 took off from New Orleans International Airport just like any other flight. I'm on the air.. It was caused by microburst-induced wind shear, and it killed over 150 people. And a few got lucky: three members of the Weems family, whose house was completely leveled, had left just minutes earlier to buy bread. Emergency crews were everywhere. 143. Breaking apart as it went, the plane cartwheeled forward and slid for two and a half blocks, tearing diagonally across Hudson Street, 17th Street, and Taylor Street. Crash of Pan Am Flight 759: I was booked on that flight, former New Orleans radio DJ recalls. The police channels were bristling with elevated voices some officers were screaming. The wind was whipping the rain into sheets of vertical water spray. They would have to attempt to identify their loved ones, plan and attend their funeral services and try to live on with a void left forever in their lives. In one of the destroyed houses, a 16-month-old baby girl was discovered in a crib covered with debris that protected her from the flames, sustaining only minor burns. Frequently, I remember that day and recall those images as if it was just yesterday and quietly reflect on it. Flowers, left by families of the victims of flight 759, rest on the memorial to the disaster at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kenner Tuesday, July 9, 2002. On July 9, 1982, the Boeing 727 flying this route was forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff, crashed into the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. Outside it was raining ferociously, and some flooding had occurred in the streets. Farther in front of me was smashed debris. Because my story was finished for the day, I was available to respond to the assignment desk, and it was determined that an immediate live shot was needed to inform the viewers of the event unfolding. 136 of the 164 people on board were killed. On July 9, 1982, the Boeing 727 flying this route crashed in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner after being forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff. Because Delta 191 tends to get all the credit for the program to combat wind shear, Pan Am 759 has descended into relative obscurity, even though it was the catalyst that started the program in the first place. It was one of those rainy summer days where it was difficult to drive on nearby roadways, let alone fly. Pan Am flight 759 was a regularly scheduled service between Miami (MIA) and San Diego (SAN) via New Orleans (MSY) and Las Vegas (LAS) and was operated by a Boeing 727 nicknamed the Clipper Defiance (Registration: N4737) on 9th July 1982. Where is the plane?, My camera was now live on the air. The winds were reported to be "gusty and swirling. There are interviews with witnesses, rescuers, family members of the victims, as well as See more The worst commercial aircraft crash in Louisiana history occurred in the city of Kenner on July, 9, 1982. 42K views 2 years ago Find out why the Boeing 727 operating Pan American World Airways Flight 759 ("Clipper Defiance") crashed into a New Orleans residential area after takeoff from New. Naegele, Mr. (no first initial available), Frankfurt, West Germany. Pan Am Flight 759 crashed less than one minute after it took off on a stormy afternoon from New Orleans International Airport on July 9, 1982, killing 154 people. The rain was coming down much harder now. Near me a very visibly shaken woman walked with the help of her neighbors. Donnelly, Dennis M., 30, purser, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 5. The NTSB issued numerous recommendations to improve the way the industry handled wind shear. But Weems and his three sons had left minutes earlier to buy bread. [3] A total of 153 people were killed (all 145 passengers and crew on board and 8 on the ground).