22 crash in Manchester, England, killed 54 people. The plane was powered by two JT8D-7 engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, company spokesman Phillip Giaramita said, but they were a different model than the engines that blew up on a British Airways jet.

The plane that crashed was a 1975 model DC-9.

The Southern Air Lines DC-9 crash occurred at New Hope, Ga.ĭC-9s are widely used short-haul carriers and have an excellent safety record, a board spokesman said. The National Transportation Safety Board said in Washington the last major fatal accident involving a DC-9 was on April 4, 1977, when 70 people died. A DC-9 can carry between 90 and 130 people. Midwest Express, based in Appleton, Wis., has a fleet of four planes, three of them DC-9s. A wheel and tire were the most distinguishable pieces.”

“About the biggest piece was a 15-20 foot piece of wing. “It was in pieces,” another onlooker said. It hit the ground nose first and there was a loud explosion. “The plane rolled sharply to the right, upside down. At that point the plane started to lose altitude. “Flames were coming from the right side engine. “I was walking to my office when I heard what I thought was a sonic boom,” said Dan Storey, who works close to the airport. Witnesses said the plane exploded once in the air and then on impact. “It will be a while before we have everybody identified,” an official said. Most of the clothing was burned off people.”Ī temporary morgue was set up near the grove of trees where the plane came down 2 miles south of the runway. “I’ve never seen anything like it in 20 years,” said a Milwaukee County deputy sheriff. “It was the worst thing I have ever seen,” Murr said.

Leaning tower of pizza milwaukee