Atlanta

Shortly after leveling off at 14,000 feet the left engine quit. The pilot diverted to Tampa, and 34 minutes later the right engine quit. During the subsequent forced landing the airplane collided with the roof of a covered sidewalk and then trees. Teardown of the left engine revealed that the seal between the exhaust flange and turbocharger was not installed; bolt clamp was finger tight. Heat had melted wiring harness and magneto grounding leads insulation; both 'p' leads were grounded. Pilot stated that after losing the left engine he initiated a left tank to right engine crossfeed, and after 20 minutes of single engine flight in this configuration the right engine quit. Flight manual states to land as soon as possible in case of one engine failure. In addition, it warns that when flying on one engine and cross feeding fuel, absolute coordinated flight must be maintained to prevent unporting of the tank's fuel pickup tube when the tank is not full.

Midwest Express Airlines Flight 206, DC-9 N100ME arrived at Milwaukee (MKE) at 13:15 on September 6, 1985. It departed Milwaukee at 13:36 and arrived in Madison at 13:55 after an uneventful flight. At Madison, N100ME was designated as flight 105 to Atlanta (ATL), with an intermediate stop in Milwaukee. Flight 105 departed Madison at 14:25 and arrived at Milwaukee, on time and without incident, at 14:41. About 14:49, the first officer of flight 105 contacted Milwaukee Tower to request an instrument flight rule (IFR) clearance to Atlanta. The clearance was received. The Atlanta forecast included a 1,000-foot ceiling, visibility 2 miles, thunderstorms and rain showers. At 15:12, the Before Engine Start Checklist was read and accomplished in accordance with Midwest Express operating procedures. Engine start was commenced at 15:14 and the After Start Checklist was accomplished. The first officer requested clearance to taxi to runway 19R for departure. About 15:17:50, the Taxi Checklist was completed, and the engine pressure ratio (EPR) and airspeed reference bugs were set to 1.91 and 133 knots, respectively. Both indications were correct for the departure conditions applicable to flight 105. At the conclusion of the Taxi Checklist, the captain advised the first officer "Standard briefing ..." At 15:19:15, the first officer reported to the tower local controller, "Milwaukee, Midex 105, ready on 19R." Flight 105 was cleared to "position and hold" on runway 19R. The captain called for the Before Takeoff Checklist, which was completed in accordance with the COM. Flight 105 was cleared for takeoff at 15:20:28; the first officer acknowledged the clearance. The captain operated the flight controls, and the first officer handled radio communications and other copilot responsibilities during the takeoff. The Midwest Express DC-9 Flight Operations Manual required the use of standard noise abatement takeoff procedures during all line operations, unless precluded by safety considerations or special noise abatement procedures. At the time flight 105 departed, noise abatement procedures were in effect. Midwest Express also utilized "reduced thrust" takeoff procedures (at the captain's discretion) to extend engine life. The flightcrew was complying with the reduced thrust and standard noise abatement takeoff procedures. The takeoff roll and liftoff were normal, with liftoff occurring near the intersection of the midfield taxiway and runway 19R, about 4,200 feet from the start of the takeoff roll. Rotation to the takeoff attitude occurred at 140 knots. The DC-9 accelerated to 168 knots with a rate of climb of about 3,000 feet/minute, indicating a normal two-engine initial takeoff flightpath. At 15:21:26 N100ME was about 7,600 feet down the runway, reaching a height of 450 feet above the ground. At that moment there was a loud noise and a noticeable decrease in engine sound. The captain then remarked "What the # was that?" The first officer did not respond. At 15:21:29, the local controller transmitted, "Midex 105, turn left heading 175." At the time of his transmission he observed smoke and flame emanating from the right airplane engine. The captain asked the first officer, "What do we got here, Bill?" The first officer did not respond to the captain but advised the local controller, "Midex 105, roger, we've got an emergency here." Two seconds later, the captain said, "Here"; again there was no response. Neither pilot made the call outs for "Max Power" or "Ignition Override-Check Fuel System," which were part of the Midwest Express "Engine Failure after V1" emergency procedure. Meanwhile the airplane began to deviate substantially to the right and the heading changed from 194 degrees to 260 degrees in eight seconds. The vertical acceleration dropped sharply to about 0.3 G and increased to a value of 1.8 G. At that point the airplane stalled. This accelerated stall occurred at a KIAS of about 156 kts.

The aircraft was on the return portion of a round trip flight, hauling canceled bank checks. When they boarded before takeoff, the pilot's wife, who was not a pilot, occupied the right front seat and his two daughter's, ages 4 and 6, were in the passenger seats. Previous legs of the flight were accomplished without incident. While en route on the 4th leg, a radar handoff was made from Jacksonville to Atlanta Center at 0225 est and the pilot reported at FL180. This was his last known transmission. At 0230, the ATC controller noted the aircraft was passing Macon VOR. Shortly thereafter, radar contact was lost and efforts to make radio contact were unsuccessful. Several persons in the vicinity heard the aircraft engines alternately at high speed, then demishing, before the accident. The wreckage was found scattered over a 2 miles area. An exam revealed the right wing had failed upward and the left wing and left horizontal stabilizer had failed downward from overload. There was evidence of course reversal and descent before breakup; light turbulence and icing at cruise alt. Reason for descent unknown. All four occupants were killed.

While in normal cruise from Brownsville to Atlanta, the pilot reported engine problems. He elected to divert to the nearest airport but was eventually forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed on soft ground and came to rest. All seven occupants were rescued, among them five were seriously injured.

Few minutes after takeoff from Kennesaw-McCollum Airport, the pilot encountered technical problems and elected to return. On final approach, he decided to initiate a go-around when the airplane stalled, crashed and burst into flames. The pilot was seriously injured.

The aircraft departed Lexington-Blue Grass Airport in poor weather conditions with negative OAT and icing conditions. While climbing, one of the engine failed after the induction system iced. Control was lost and the airplane crashed in flames in a field. All seven occupants were killed.

The crew was supposed to make a training flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. En route, an electrical failure occurred and the crew became lost and disoriented. The aircraft continued to the southeast for about 1,800 km when both engines failed due to a fuel exhaustion. The crew was able to ditch the aircraft off Aruba Island. While all three occupants were rescued, the aircraft sank and was not recovered.

Southern Airways Flight 242, a DC-9-31, operated as a scheduled passenger flight from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, with an intermediate stop at Huntsville, Alabama. Flight 242 departed Muscle Shoals at 15:21 and landed at Huntsville about 15:44. About 15:54, Flight 242 departed Huntsville on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan for the Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport; there were 81 passengers and 4 crew members aboard. The flight's route was direct to the Rome VOR and then a Rome runway 26 profile descent to Atlanta. Its estimated time en route was 25 min and its requested en route altitude was 17,000 ft. At 15:56, the controller told Flight 242 that his radarscope was showing heavy precipitation and that the echos were about 5 nmi ahead of the flight. At 15:57:36, the controller said, "...you're in what appears to be about the heaviest part of it now, what are your flight conditions." Flight 242 replied, "...we're getting a little light turbulence and...I'd say moderate rain." At 15:57:47, the controller acknowledged Flight 242's report and told the flight to contact Memphis Center. The Memphis Center controller advised the flight that a SIGMET was current for the area. He then told Flight 242 to contact Atlanta Center. At 16:03:20, Flight 242 switched to another sector of Atlanta Center, established communications on the new frequency and reported being level at FL170. As the aircraft entered an area of rain, the flight crew began discussing the weather depicted on their radar. Based on information from the airborne radar, the captain initially decided that the storms just west of the Rome VOR were too severe to penetrate. Shortly after his initial assessment of the storm system, the captain decided to penetrate the storm area near the Rome VOR. At 16:06:41 Atlanta Center cleared Flight 242 to descend to and maintain 14,000 ft. Shortly afterwards the aircraft entered an area of heavy hail or rain, which continued for at least one minute. The ingestion of intense rain and hail into the engines caused the rotational speed of both engines to decrease below the engine-driven electrical generator operating speeds, and resulted in normal electrical power interruption for 36 seconds. The flight crew likely advanced one or both thrust levers, restoring its generator to operation and provide normal electrical power. After establishing contact with Atlanta Center again, the flight was told to maintain 15,000 ft. At 16:09:15, Flight 242 reported to Atlanta Center, "Okay...we just got our windshield busted and... we'll try to get it back up to 15, we're 14." After reported that the left engine had flamed out, the flight was cleared to descend to 13,000 ft. Meanwhile both engines' high-pressure compressors began to stall severely due to ingestion of massive quantities of water. The severe compressor stalls produced an overpressure surge which deflected the compressor blades forward in the sixth stage of the low-pressure compressors; these blades clashed against the fifth-stage stator vanes and broke pieces from the blades and vanes. Pieces of blades and stator vanes were then ingested into the high-pressure compressors and damaged them severely. Continued high thrust settings following the severe damage to the high-pressure compressors probably caused severe overheating in the turbine sections of both engines, and the engines ceased to function. Shortly before normal electrical power was again, the flight crew radioed that both engines had failed. Atlanta Center told the crew to contact approach control for vectors to Dobbins Air Force Base. Power was then lost for 2 min 4 sec until the APU-driven generator restored electrical power. After establishing contact with Atlanta Approach Control the flight was told they were 20 miles from Dobbins. As the flight was descending, the captain began to doubt their ability to reach Dobbins. Cartersville was closer at 15 miles, so the controller gave vectors for Cartersville. Unable to make it to Cartersville, the crew began looking for a clear field or highway for an emergency landing. At 16:18:02, Flight 242's last transmission to Approach Control was recorded: "... we're putting it on the highway, we're down to nothing." The aircraft's outboard left wing section first contacted two trees near State Spur Highway 92 south-southwest of the community of New Hope. About 0.8 miles farther north-northeast, the left wing again contacted a tree alongside the highway within the community of New Hope. The left and right wings continued to strike trees and utility poles on both sides of the highway, and 570 ft after striking the first tree in New Hope, the aircraft's left main gear contacted the highway to the left of the centerline. Almost simultaneously, the outer structure of the left wing struck an embankment, and the aircraft veered to the left and off the highway. The aircraft traveled another 1,260 ft before it came to rest. As it traveled, the aircraft struck road signs, utility poles, fences, trees, shrubs, gasoline pumps at a gas station-store, five automobiles, and a truck. Of the 85 persons aboard Flight 242, 62 were killed, 21 were seriously injured, and 1 was slightly injured. Additionally, eight persons on the ground were killed. Within a month of the accident, one of the surviving passengers and one person on the ground both died of their injuries.

The crew was completing a ferry flight from Atlanta to Augusta. On approach to Augusta Airport, both engines flamed out almost simultaneously. The crew elected to make an emergency landing when the airplane struck trees and crashed in rough terrain. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were seriously injured.

While cruising under VFR mode, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with clouds, turbulences and thunderstorm activity. The airplane suffered overload failure, disintegrated in the air and crashed in Ashdown. The wreckage was found a day later. All three occupants have been killed.