Most survivors onboard Delta 191 were in the tail section, which broke away from the rest of the plane before it impacted two 4 million gallon water tanks.August 2, 1985 is a day Dallas, Texas will never forget. Throughout the afternoon, the weather was typical Texas. Hot temperatures, low humidity, and sunny skies. At 4:03 PM eastern daylight time, Delta Airlines flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011-385-1, lifted off from runway 9L at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. Aboard the aircraft today were 167 passengers and crew traveling to Los Angeles with a stop at Dallas/Ft. Worth. As the flight cruised over the vast farmlands of Louisiana, something strange began to happen at Dallas.
In command of Delta 191 was Captain Edward Conners, a 14,000 hour pilot who was highly respected at Delta. Assisting him on the flight deck was First Officer Rudolph Price, hardly a novice, and Second Officer Nick Nassick. Nassick actually re-wrote the technical manual for Delta's L-1011's some two years earlier and he probably knew the inner workings of the airplane more than anyone present.
