Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105

1985 aviation accident in the U.S.

Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105

A Midwest Express Airlines Douglas DC-9-14, similar to the one involved

Accident
Date| September 6, 1985
Summary| Uncontained engine failure and loss of control due to pilot error and poor FAA oversight
Site| Near General Mitchell International Airport, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States
42°55′38.36″N 87°54′6″W﻿ / ﻿42.9273222°N 87.90167°W﻿ / 42.9273222; -87.90167
Aircraft
Aircraft type| Douglas DC-9-14
Operator| Midwest Express Airlines
IATA flight No.| YX105
ICAO flight No.| MEP105
Call sign| MIDEX 105
Registration| N100ME
Flight origin| Dane County Regional Airport, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Stopover| General Mitchell Int'l Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Destination| Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int'l Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Occupants| 31
Passengers| 27
Crew| 4
Fatalities| 31
Survivors| 0

Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight that crashed into an open field in Oak Creek, Wisconsin shortly after taking off from General Mitchell International Airport on September 6, 1985. The airplane, a Douglas DC-9, was carrying 31 passengers and crew. None of them survived the crash.

Multiple eyewitnesses reported that the plane was on fire shortly after it took off from the airport. The fire was caused due to a failure on the right engine where one of its removable sleeve spacers detached. The removable sleeve spacer suffered metal fatigue that caused the engine to explode.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the investigation team who was responsible for the investigation of the crash, concluded that despite the plane suffering engine failure, it was still controllable, and instead the response of the crew to the failure was the main cause of the accident. The crew failed to properly control the plane during the emergency. Breakdown of the crew's coordination, and poor FAA oversight also contributed to the crash.[1]

## Aircraft

[edit]

On September 6, 1985, Flight 105 was a Midwest Express Airlines flight scheduled to be operated using a Douglas DC-9-14 twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner (registration N100ME). The DC-9 was manufactured in 1968. The aircraft had accrued a total of 31,892 operating hours and 48,903 cycles at the time of the accident.[1]: 5

## Passengers and crew

[edit]

Flight 105 departed Milwaukee carrying 27 passengers and 4 crew members. Most of the passengers were businessmen.[2]

The two flight attendants were 24-year old Sharon Ann Herb and 21-year old Amy Marie Bain.

Instead of a captain and first officer, Flight 105 was crewed by two captains.[1]: 4

The first captain of the flight was 31-year old Captain Danny Watkin Martin. Captain Martin was employed by Midwest Express in 1984 as a First Officer. He was promoted as a Captain in 1985 and had accumulated a total of 4,600 flight hours, including 1,000 hours on the DC-9 (600 flight hours as a First Officer on the DC-9, and 500 hours as a captain). Before he was an employee of Midwest, he was a corporate pilot of a Beechcraft 90 King Air.[1]

The second captain (though acting as a first officer) was 37-year old Captain William Roger Weiss. Captain Weiss was employed by Midwest Express in 1984 and later received his DC-9 type rating. At the time, he had accrued 5,197 total flight hours, including 1,640 hours on the DC-9 (500 hours as a First Officer of the DC-9 and 1,140 hours as a captain). He was a former employee of KC Aviation, the parent company of Midwest Express. Captain Weiss was also a former US Air Force pilot, flying an F-4.[1]

## Flight

[edit]

Flight 105 took off at 15:20 with 27 passengers and 4 crew members. Flight 105 departed from Mitchell's Runway 19R en route to its destination of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int'l Airport, Atlanta, Georgia. Before the flight, the plane had previously been operated as Flight 206 with the same flight crew.[1]

At 15:21, during its initial climb, at an altitude of 700 ft (210 m) above the ground, the right engine exploded. Flight 105 swayed several times. Captain Martin heard the loud bang and reacted: "What the hell was that?", which was not responded to by First Officer Weiss. Captain Marin then asked, "What do we got here Will?", still with no response from First Officer Weiss. Flight 105 was then instructed by the ATC to turn left towards heading 175. At this stage, the air traffic controller noticed smoke and flames were emanating from the right engine, with parts of the plane falling to the ground, but did not inform the crew about this.[1][3]

First Officer Weiss declared an emergency.[4] The plane then climbed with a high angle of attack. Due to the high angle of attack, the air speed decreased significantly. It began to roll to the right, and then stalled and rolled abruptly to an angle of 90 degrees, barrel-rolled at least once, and crashed into an open field in a wildlife preserve just several hundred meters from runway 19R. The aircraft was completely demolished by impact forces and fire, with nearly the entire structure fragmented.[1]

## Investigation

[edit]

Roughly 100 eyewitnesses stated that they saw flames and smoke from the right engine shortly after the explosion and that some parts of the plane detached and fell to the ground.[5] They also stated that loud bangs were continuously heard during the accident. Shortly afterwards, the crew lost control of the plane and the plane crashed into the field. Investigators then constructed several possible scenarios as to what might have caused the plane to lose control.[1]

### Possible control failure due to turbine explosion

[edit]

Investigators immediately examined the fragments of the engine. They stated that the explosion might have been powerful enough to propel fragments of the turbine with sufficient speed to penetrate the plane and damage the flight controls, which could explain why the plane suddenly pitched up and barrel-rolled immediately after the explosion. 5 years before the crash of Flight 105, in Poland an Ilyushin Il-62 crashed into a moat after its engine number 2 exploded and damaged the plane's elevator and aileron. Immediately after the explosion, the plane nosedived to the ground.[1]

The explosion was caused by a detached removable sleeve spacer inside the right engine. The detachment was caused by metal fatigue. Examination of the turbine fragments and their distribution during the explosion led to the conclusion that the ejection of the fragments didn't contribute to the crash, as the velocity of the fragments was substantially absorbed and decreased by the engine cowling. The NTSB noted that several parts of the engine could not be found; they concluded that, based on their calculation and distribution of the fragments on the ground, the unidentified parts were reduced to tiny, harmless bits. The left engine did not exhibit any signs of pre-impact damage or failure[1]

The NTSB also stated that, although the explosion caused serious damage to the engine cowling, the cowlings were all latched. None blew outwards, which would have caused a massive drag force on the plane. This, in turn, could have affected the controllability of the plane. Small portions of the cowling did blow outwards, but the NTSB concluded that these parts caused very little drag force.[1]

The NTSB later concluded that even if any turbine parts were ejected and somehow able to penetrate the plane, the impact would be small and no controls would be affected.[1]

### Pilot error

[edit]

In the initial seconds after the explosion, Flight 105 swayed to the right and left. In response, the pilot used the rudder to counteract the plane's movements. The examination concluded that the plane was easily controllable and that it could still be controlled properly without the rudder inputs. Additionally, the crew made a pitch input, raising the aircraft's nose.[1]

The crew may have wrongly perceived the nature of the emergency. Since the explosion of the engine caused the loss of engine thrust, the speed of the plane decreased. This rapid deceleration caused the crew to think that the plane was pitching down, which may explain why the crew made a nose-up input, while in reality, it didn't pitch down. This phenomenon is known as a somatogravic illusion. However, instead of fixing the situation, the nose-up input that the crew made only caused the plane to decelerate even more. The pilot may have suffered spatial disorientation immediately after the emergency.[1]

Animation of an accelerated stall.

The NTSB noted that the plane had banked to the right to such a severe angle that the plane entered a state which investigators call an "accelerated stall".[1]

### Cockpit breakdown

[edit]

During the emergency, Captain Martin called for the instrument readings to First Officer Weiss. However, Weiss didn't reply to any of his questions or remarks. Since an emergency had occurred on board the plane, First Officer Weiss should have responded and worked with Martin in order to handle the emergency properly. Weiss' failure to respond may have further confused Captain Martin.[1]

Investigators stated that Weiss also might have been confused by the information on his instruments. They also stated that Weiss' action might have been influenced by Midwest Express' "silent cockpit" philosophy.[1]

Midwest Express expected its pilots to adhere to an unwritten policy called the "silent cockpit", where pilots would make no unnecessary callouts or even verbalize the nature of an emergency after 100 knots (190 kilometres per hour) and before reaching an altitude of 800 ft (240 m). The emergency on board Flight 105 that day started at roughly 700 ft (210 m) above the ground, meaning that the "silent cockpit" rule was in effect at the time. Investigators stated that the pilots should have worked together immediately since an emergency that occurred at low altitude was dangerous. With the silent cockpit rule, the crew's ability to effectively work together would have been hampered. This rule conflicted with FAA regulations and therefore should have been prohibited by the FAA.[1]

Seconds after the failure of the right engine, Captain Martin applied proper inputs to the plane. However, he was uncertain about the situation of Flight 105 at the time. Due to this, he asked First Officer Weiss for assistance. The NTSB, on their report, stated that Martin might have asked Weiss as he was far more senior and had more experience. He may have thought that Weiss was far more knowledgeable than him in identifying the nature of the emergency. Weiss didn't respond to any of Martin's remarks and questions. Based on the evidence from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), investigators believe that Weiss actually heard Martin's questions and remarks but ignored them for some reason. He was not incapacitated, as evidence from the recordings indicated that he communicated with Milwaukee Tower while Martin was asking him about the information of the plane's instruments.

Captain Martin held primary responsibility for handling the emergency and taking corrective actions. However, the emergency should have been handled by both men working together as a team. Weiss should have assisted the Captain in responding and diagnosing the problem that had occurred on board Flight 105. The NTSB stated:[1]

> "The redundancy provided by the First Officer is one of the basic tenets of Cockpit Resource Management."

The NTSB then concluded that breakdown in crew coordination was one of the main causes of the accident, one possible cause being their inexperience - only a few hundred hours in this jet.[1]

### Inadequate FAA oversight

[edit]

The lack of experience of an FAA Principal Operations Inspector (POI) may have caused the silent cockpit philosophy to be approved by the FAA without proper examination. The philosophy was contrary to the approved practice by the FAA. If she had had more experience, she might have recognized that the concept had flaws, and that the airline was already teaching the concept to their employees.[1]

The NTSB believed that the POI who worked with Midwest Express did not perform her duties at an adequate level. As per the final report:[1]

> "The safety board believes that the FAA oversight of Midwest Express procedures and training during certification and ongoing day-to-day activity in the carrier's first 2 years of operation was less than optimum and probably suffered as a direct result of the inexperience of the POI. The POI testified that she devoted only 20 percent of her worktime to Midwest Express, her only FAR 121 scheduled passenger airline, and that she was still obligated to perform routine general aviation rules. The Board noted that the POI had no previous FAR 121 air carrier experience, that she was not rated in a turbojet of the category and class used by the airline, and that she had not rated received any formal training in the DC-9 airplane used by the certificate holder for which she was responsible. In fact, she had no turbojet pilot experience. Neither did the POI have available for consultation or assistance air carrier inspectors assigned to other offices to fulfill her responsibilities. Apparently, she had become so dependent on other inspectors in surveilling Midwest Express that her own role was reduced primarily to administrative matters. The absence of first-hand knowledge of the carrier and her lack of experience in turbojet air carrier operations severely handicapped her ability to perform the quality of surveillance required to detect shortcomings of FAR 121 airline operation. The Safety Board believes that the experience level of the POI was inappropriate for her assignment as the POI of a new air carrier operating turbojet equipment. She even testified that she was not totally comfortable with the arrangement."

## See also

[edit]

* Aviation accidents and incidents
* Aviation safety
* List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Aircraft Accident Report - Midwest Express Airlines, Inc. DC-9-14, N100 ME, General Billy Mitchell Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 6, 1985" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. February 3, 1987. NTSB/AAR-87/01. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2019. \- Copy at Archived September 26, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
2. ^ "Victims of Milwaukee Air Crash". Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1985. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
3. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 N100ME, Friday 6 September 1985". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
4. ^ Enstad, Robert; Washburn, Gary (September 7, 1985). "Milwaukee Jet Crash Kills 31". Chicago Tribune. Milwaukee. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
5. ^ Malcolm, Andrew H. (September 8, 1985). "Jet Parts Found Near Crash". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

External images

Pre-accident picture of aircraft at Airliners.net
Pre-accident picture of aircraft at Flickr.com

* Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

* v
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* e

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 family

Civil/Commercial|

* DC-9
* -80/81/82/83/87/88

* MD-80
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* MD-91
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* MD-95

* Boeing 717

Military|

* C-9
* P-9
* X-66

Accidents and
incidents|

| DC-9|

* West Coast Airlines Flight 956 (1966)
* TWA Flight 553 (1967)
* Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 (1968)
* Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 (1968)
* Viasa Flight 742 (1969)
* Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 (1969)
* 1970 Dominicana air disaster
* Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (1970)
* ALM Flight 980 (1970)
* Southern Airways Flight 932 (1970)
* Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (1971)
* 1972 Turkish Airlines Adana crash
* JAT Flight 367 (1972)
* EgyptAir Flight 763 (1972)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (1972)
* Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130 (1972)
* Southern Airways Flight 49 (1972)
* 1972 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision
* 1973 Nantes mid-air collision
* Aeroméxico Flight 229 (1973)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (1973)
* Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (1974)
* Avensa Flight 358 (1974)
* Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450 (1975)
* 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision
* Southern Airways Flight 242 (1977)
* Air Canada Flight 189 (1978)
* TWA Flight 541 (1978)
* Alitalia Flight 4128 (1978)
* Itavia Flight 870 (1980)
* Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 (1981)
* Aeroméxico Flight 230 (1981)
* Aeroméxico Flight 110 (1981)
* Avensa Flight 007 (1983)
* Air Canada Flight 797 (1983)
* 1983 Madrid runway disaster
* Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 (1983)
* Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 (1985)
* Aeroméxico Flight 498 (1986)
* Garuda Indonesia Flight 035 (1987)
* Continental Airlines Flight 1713 (1987)
* Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17 (1988)
* Alitalia Flight 404 (1990)
* 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision
* Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 (1991)
* Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 109 (1991)
* Japan Air System Flight 451 (1993)
* USAir Flight 1016 (1994)
* Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 (1995)
* ValuJet Flight 592 (1996)
* Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553 (1997)
* Cebu Pacific Flight 387 (1998)
* TAESA Flight 725 (1999)
* Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (2005)
* 2006 Mexico drug bust
* Hewa Bora Airways Flight 122 (2008)

|

MD-80|

* Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 (1981)
* Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (1987)
* Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046 (1988)
* Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 (1991)
* China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398 (1993)
* China Northern Airlines Flight 6901 (1993)
* Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 347 (1994)
* TWA Flight 427 (1994)
* American Airlines Flight 1572 (1995)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 (1996)
* Korean Air Flight 1533 (1999)
* American Airlines Flight 1420 (1999)
* Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (2000)
* 2001 Linate Airport disaster
* China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 (2002)
* Lion Air Flight 538 (2004)
* West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 (2005)
* One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 (2007)
* Atlasjet Flight 4203 (2007)
* Spanair Flight 5022 (2008)
* Dana Air Flight 0992 (2012)
* Air Algérie Flight 5017 (2014)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 (2015)
* Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 (2017)
* Caspian Airlines Flight 6936 (2020)
* 2021 Houston MD-87 crash
* RED Air Flight 203 (2022)

MD-90|

* Uni Air Flight 873 (1999)

Topics|

* Operators
* MD-80
* MD-90
* Boeing 717

* v
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1985 (1985)

Jan 1

Eastern Air Lines Flight 980

Jan 18

CAAC Flight 5109

Jan 21

Galaxy Airlines Flight 203

Feb 1

Aeroflot Flight 7841

Feb 19

China Airlines Flight 006

Feb 19

Iberia Flight 610

Feb 24

Polar 3

May 3

Zolochiv mid-air collision

Jun 14

Trans World Airlines Flight 847

Jun 21

Braathens SAFE Flight 139

Jun 23

Air India Flight 182

Jul 10

Aeroflot Flight 5143

Aug 2

Delta Air Lines Flight 191

Aug 12

Japan Air Lines Flight 123

Aug 22

Manchester Airport disaster

Aug 25

Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808

Sep 4

Bakhtar Antonov An-26 shootdown

Sep 6

Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105

Sep 23

Henson Airlines Flight 1517

Nov 10

Teterboro mid-air collision

Nov 23

EgyptAir Flight 648

Nov 25

Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash

Dec 12

Arrow Air Flight 1285R

Dec 19

Aeroflot Flight 101/435

Dec 31

Ricky Nelson plane crash

1984  ◄ ► 1986

* v
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1980s

1980|

* Air Wisconsin Flight 965 (June 1980)

1981|

* Eastern Air Lines Flight 935 (September 1981)

1982|

* Air Florida Flight 90 (January 13 1982)
* Thunderbirds Indian Springs Diamond Crash (January 18 1982)
* World Airways Flight 30 (January 23 1982)
* Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458 (February 1982)
* Pan Am Flight 759 (July 9 1982)
* Twilight Zone accident (July 23 1982)
* Pan Am Flight 830 (August 1982)

1983|

* United Airlines Flight 2885 (January 1983)
* Eastern Air Lines Flight 855 (May 1983)
* Air Canada Flight 797 (June 2 1983)
* Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 (June 8 1983)
* Air Illinois Flight 710 (October 1983)
* Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 (December 20 1983)
* Anchorage runway collision (December 23 1983)

1984|

* Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 901 (February 1984)
* Vieques Air Link Flight 901A (August 2 1984)*
* San Luis Obispo mid-air collision (August 24 1984)
* Provincetown-Boston Airlines Flight 1039 (December 1984)

1985|

* Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 (January 1985)
* China Airlines Flight 006 (February 1985)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 191 (August 2 1985)
* Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 (August 25 1985)
* Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 (September 6 1985)
* Henson Airlines Flight 1517 (September 23 1985)
* Teterboro mid-air collision (November 1985)
* Death of Ricky Nelson (December 1985)

1986|

* Grand Canyon mid-air collision (June 1986)
* Aeroméxico Flight 498 (August 1986)
* Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628 incident (November 1986)

1987|

* SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834 (January 1987)
* Northwest Airlink Flight 2268 (March 1987)
* American Eagle Flight 5452 (May 1987)*
* Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (August 1987)
* Indianapolis Ramada Inn A-7D Corsair II crash (October 1987)
* Continental Airlines Flight 1713 (November 1987)
* Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 (December 1987)

1988|

* Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286 (January 1988)
* American Airlines Flight 132 (February 3 1988)
* AVAir Flight 3378 (February 19 1988)
* Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (April 1988)
* TACA Flight 110 (May 1988)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 (August 1988)

1989|

* United Airlines Flight 811 (February 1989)
* Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17 (March 1989)
* United Airlines Flight 232 (July 1989)
* USAir Flight 5050 (September 1989)
* KLM Flight 867 (December 15 1989)
* United Express Flight 2415 (December 26 1989)

This list is incomplete.
An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory.
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