122 Killed as Jet Crashes in Texas : 27 Survive When L-1011 Bound for L.A. Goes Down in Heavy Storm

A Delta Air Lines L-1011 jetliner bound for Los Angeles crashed and exploded in a ball of flame during a violent thunderstorm on final approach to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport here late Friday, apparently killing at least 122 of the 161 persons aboard.

There were at least 27 survivors, according to an airline spokesman, including 24 passengers and three flight attendants. All had been sitting in the back of the aircraft. The injured were taken by ambulance to five area hospitals.

Flight 191, which originated in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and was due to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport at 7:30 p.m. Friday, crashed about a quarter-mile north of the runway about 6:05 p.m., Dallas time, and struck at least two cars on Texas Highway 114 adjacent to the airport.

Motorist Decapitated

One of the motorists was decapitated.

Witnesses counted 40 to 60 bodies draped in yellow plastic on the Tarmac near the shattered wreckage of the Lockheed-built jetliner. A records secretary at the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office said her office had been told to expect 130 bodies.

A temporary morgue was set up at the Delta hangar.

About 30 relatives of persons aboard the crashed plane gathered at the Delta terminal but were encouraged by airline officials to go home and wait there for information.

The three-engine plane, with a capacity of 302, carried 149 passengers and 12 crew members, according to Matt Guilfoyle, Delta’s district director of marketing.

One of the injured reportedly was a person who was not aboard the airplane. An infant who was injured in the crash died later at a hospital.

Forty-two of those aboard were booked to proceed on to Los Angeles on the final leg of the flight, Delta said.

Other prospective passengers, who had been waiting at Dallas-Fort Worth to board the plane, took an American Airlines flight on to Los Angeles.

Witnesses said the plane was making its final approach during a short, intense thunderstorm when it appeared to be knocked out of the air.

The big aircraft abruptly dove toward the ground, dipped its left wing and skimmed heavy traffic on the adjacent freeway, witnesses said. It struck two vehicles--killing one motorist--and slammed to earth about two miles from the terminal building, skidding into a water tank on the north side of the airport and scattering destruction.

The tail section was left between two tanks. It was the largest recognizable piece.

Visibility Near Zero

The storm was so intense that visibility on the ground was near zero. The work of rescuers was hampered by massive traffic jams that developed at the north and south ends of the airport.

Jack Barker, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Atlanta, said witnesses told the FAA that lightning struck the plane on its final approach. Barker said it was not known whether wind shear--an abrupt change in wind direction and speed--was involved in the crash.

It was the worst commercial airline crash in the United States since July 9, 1982, when a Pan American Airways 727 jetliner crashed after takeoff from New Orleans, killing 145 persons aboard and six others on the ground. And it was the first major crash in the 10-year history of the airport.

Misty fog shrouded the field as dense smoke streamed from the charred wreckage, which was scattered over several hundred yards.

Katie Berhard, a desk clerk at a hotel about half a mile from the crash, said she looked out the window and saw “an enormous fireball and mushroom cloud.”

Thomas Dunn, a witness who told of seeing 20 to 30 bodies, said some of them were still strapped in seats. “I saw bodies that were charred and bodies (on the ground) that were absolutely normal,” Dunn said. “The whole plane was on fire before it hit the ground. It was just a big ball of fire.”

‘Coming Apart’

Another witness, Jim Porter, said the plane appeared to be coming apart before it hit. “There was lots of metal (flying before the crash),” he said, “so it must have been coming apart before the crash.”

Tony Maza, also a witness, said: “I heard a low-flying jet. I did see lightning. All I could feel was a heavy gust of wind coming in behind the plane and the plane itself in sight, exploding.”

Anthony Rogers was driving on Highway 114 near the airport when the plane hit his car and then another. “The rain was so hard you couldn’t see 30 feet in front of you,” he said. “All of a sudden, it seemed like (my car) just caught a tire, a glimpse of a tire, and a big jolt just bounced my car.”

‘Big Explosion’

Rogers said he looked back and saw “a big explosion . . . the ball of fire and the mushroom cloud.”

When he jumped from his car, he saw that the other motorist had been decapitated.

Jerry Fenske, a worker for Zantop Airlines, said he saw a passenger still strapped in his seat, pleading, “Help me! Help me!” He said the man had severe head and leg injuries.

Another witness said that about five seconds after the crash a large explosion sent flames 200 to 300 feet into the air.

One survivor told Jerry Maximoff, also a Zantop employee, that he was sitting in the tail section of the Delta jet and that it felt as though the crew was maneuvering the plane left to right. The next thing he knew he felt a bump, then he was upside down in his seat.

‘Only Had a Scratch’

“He unlatched his belt and dropped down and ran out to the field,” Maximoff said. “It looked like he only had a scratch on his back.”

A stream of ambulances left Parkland Hospital in Dallas. A short time later a witness at the airport said: “There are ambulances everywhere. They have massive injuries.”

Survivors were taken to Parkland, Harris Hospital-HEB, Irving Community Hospital, Northeast Community Hospital and St. Paul Hospital.

In Atlanta, Delta spokesman Jim Ewing said no names were being released immediately. “The major thing right now is taking care of the families involved first,” he said.

‘Marvelous Airplane’

Ewing called the Lockheed L-1011 a “marvelous airplane” and said Delta has 38 of them.

FAA spokesman Barker, noting that witnesses told of seeing lightning hit the plane, said lightning “has hurt airplanes before. . . . It’s a very rare occurence when that happens, but I wouldn’t want to rule out anything at this point.”

The plane’s flight crew was based in Atlanta and the cabin attendants were based in Miami, a Delta spokesman said.

Times Staff Writers Jack Jones and Ted Thackrey Jr. in Los Angeles contributed to this story.