‘We’re Not Gonna Make It,’ Pilot Said : Analysis of Cockpit Recording Traces Delta Crash Sequence

The captain of Delta Flight 1141 exclaimed, “We’re not gonna make it!” 11 seconds before the jet crashed on takeoff, the cockpit recording shows.

The pilots discovered that their aircraft was in serious trouble about 21 seconds before the plane struck the ground, the Dallas Times Herald reported today.

The plane crashed at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport on Aug. 31 while taking off for Salt Lake City. The Boeing 727 exploded and broke apart upon impact, killing 13 of the 108 people on board. The pilots were injured, but they survived.

Alarm Goes Off

The partial transcript, obtained Wednesday by the newspaper, shows that about nine seconds after what appeared to be a normal takeoff, a cockpit alarm indicated that the jet was not able to gather enough speed to stay aloft.

A second later, Capt. Larry Davis said, “Something’s wrong. Oh. . . .” One of the final entries on the transcript sounds like a scream.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators said last week that the cockpit recording indicates there were two compressor stalls, or disruptions of air flow, one each in two of the engines. The transcript, however, notes five possible compressor stalls within six seconds, a pair followed within seconds by three more, the newspaper reported.

‘Engine Failure’

After the first two stalls were noted, co-pilot Carey Kirkland said, “Engine failure.”

Just after the three possible stalls were noted, someone in the cockpit said, “We got an engine failure.”

Three seconds later, Davis said, “We’re not gonna make it!”

At that point, someone attempted to communicate something to the tower, saying only, “Eleven-forty one’s . . . “

Davis then exclaimed, “Full power!”

Kirkland followed with unintelligible words just a fraction of a second before what is believed to be the sound of impact is heard on the recording.

The recording then ends with a possible scream.

Safety board investigators say they have not been able to determine whether any compressor stalls actually occurred. The engines are to be tested at the Pratt & Whitney manufacturing plant in Hartford, Conn.

One safety board investigator, who asked not to be named, told the newspaper that it is possible for engines to experience several quick, successive stalls.

The significance of the stalls and, more important, what caused them, is the key element in the investigation into the cause of the crash.