Delta Air Lines Flight 157

Delta Air Lines Flight 157

A Delta Airlines Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1 similar to the aircraft involved in the incident
Accident
Date	August 23, 1995
Summary	In-flight structural failure due to inadequate maintenance leading to rapid decompression
Site	Over the Pacific Ocean
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1
Operator	Delta Air Lines
IATA flight No.	DL157
ICAO flight No.	DAL157
Call sign	DELTA 157
Registration	N781DL
Flight origin	Los Angeles International Airport, California
Destination	Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii
Occupants	236
Passengers	226
Crew	10
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	236

Delta Air Lines Flight 157 was a regularly scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic service from Los Angeles, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. On Wednesday, August 23, 1995, the plane suffered a bulkhead failure at 33,000 feet. The Lockheed L-1011 cockpit crew made an emergency descent to 14,000 feet and returned safely to Los Angeles International Airport about 2 hours after the decompression. While all 236 occupants on the aircraft survived without any serious injuries, the aircraft was substantially damaged in the accident and written off.

Aircraft

The aircraft, registered as N781DL, had made its first flight in 1971. It was powered by 3 Rolls-Royce RB211-22B engines. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated 52,210 flight hours and had gone through 25,813 cycles.

Crew Members

The flight crew consisted of a captain, first officer, flight engineer, and seven flight attendants.

Cockpit Crew

The captain was a 55 year-old male with an Airline Transport certificate and an Instrument Flight Rule rating. He had a medical certificate, and his last medical exam was in March 1995. At the time of the accident, the captain had a total of 22,330 flight hours on aircraft. He also had 2,000 flight hours on the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, all as the pilot in command.

Cabin Crew

There were seven flight attendants on the aircraft.

Accident

On Wednesday, August 23, 1995, at 18:10 PDT, Delta Air Lines Flight 157 took off from Los Angeles International Airport, California. About two hours after takeoff, at 20:13 PDT, the plane suffered a bulkhead failure at 33,000 feet. Shortly before the rapid decompression, the flight crew reported that they heard a loud bang. Shortly after the decompression began, the crew reported that they were unable to regain control of the aircraft. However, the crew eventually regained control of the aircraft at 7,000 feet, and they aircraft leveled off the aircraft at 14,000 feet. The Lockheed L-1011 cockpit crew made an emergency descent to 14,000 feet and returned safely to Los Angeles International Airport at 22:17 PDT. All 236 occupants on the aircraft survived without any serious injuries. However, the aircraft was substantially damaged in the accident and written off. Besides the reports of passengers experiencing ear discomfort, there were no injuries. Three passengers were taken to a local hospital for a brief check and released afterwards.

Investigation

The NTSB investigated the accident and released their final report with a probable cause, saying,

• "Inadequate certification/approval of the airframe structure. Contributing to the accident was the lack of required inspections of the failure area."

Aftermath

After the accident, the aircraft was purchased by Lockheed Aircraft for aging aircraft testing. On October 11, 1995, the aircraft was ferried to Dobbins AFB, Marietta, Georgia. Prior to releasing the aircraft to Lockheed, Delta Airlines personnel removed the failed aft pressure dome components for metallurgical analysis.

On August 24, 1995, Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Support Company notified all foreign operators of the rapid decompression during flight. On August 29, 1995, the FAA issued Airworthiness Directive T95-18-52 (amended with AD95-18-52 and superseded by AD95-26-11) on September 28, 1995 to all operators of Lockheed model L-1011-385 series airplanes certificated in any category. The AD mandated the compliance/inspection called out in the text within a certain time frame.

See also

• Japan Airlines Flight 123, another flight that suffered an in-flight bulkhead failure and rapid decompression due to improper maintenance, causing the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in aviation history.

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