Airliner Was Coming Apart as It Was Warned to Climb

Delta Air Lines Flight 191 already was breaking up when air traffic controllers frantically warned the pilot to abort his landing, federal investigators said Monday.

The voice recorder of the L-1011 jumbo jet, which crashed Friday, killing 133 persons, including one on the ground, picked up sounds of the airplane coming apart, “sort of a crackling, grinding” sound, National Transportation Safety Board member Patrick Bursley said.

‘Go Around!’

Over the sound of the breakup could be heard the frantic order of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport flight controller, “Delta, go around!” urging the pilot not to land, Bursley said.

An automatic device in the cockpit also told the pilot in its electronic voice, “Pull up! Pull up! Pull up!” just before the crash, he said.

Investigators earlier had said that the jumbo jet might already have hit the ground by the time the controller in the tower was able to issue the command to “go around.”

Tape recordings made in the tower show that, just before the crash, an air traffic controller watched as the plane emerged from a thundershower 50 to 100 feet above the ground, authorities said. The plane at that point may have been bouncing after initial impact, investigators said.

“Delta, go around!” the controller ordered. Bursley said Monday that, although it was unclear whether the pilot heard the order or tried to respond, the plane’s digital flight recorder indicated a surge in engine power just before the crash.

Wind Shear Probed

Bursley said officials are investigating whether wind shear--an abrupt change of wind direction and speed--had a role in the crash. Instruments at the airport showed low-level wind shear in the area minutes after the crash.

Twenty-eight passengers and three flight attendants, among 152 passengers and 11 crew members, survived.