The data for the following story was gathered from the official accident report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Just eight years after a severe thunderstorm contributed to the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to Dallas, Texas, was seconds away from landing when Mother Nature unleashed an invisible killer.
Triple-Digit Heat and a Trigger
Aug. 2, 1985, was another blistering day of triple-digit heat in Dallas although this is quite typical for the heart of summer. Given sufficient moisture and an "atmospheric trigger," the conditions were conducive for thunderstorm development.
Delta Airlines Flight 191 departed Fort Lauderdale in the mid-afternoon. In the cockpit were Captain Edward Connors, First Officer Rudolph Price and Second Officer Nick Nassick. The experienced flight crew was flying a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar aircraft, a reliable workhorse in the Delta fleet.
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