Delta Air Lines plane

The following are significant events involving the airline or its subsidiares. The numbered events are those involving at least one airline passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role, and where at least one of the dead passengers was not a stowaway, hijacker, or saboteur. Only events since 1970 are included. Also included are events from Delta regional airlines.

1. 31 July 1973; Delta Air Lines DC9-31; Boston, MA: The aircraft landed short of the runway in poor visibility, striking a sea wall about 165 feet (50 m) the right of the runway centerline and about 3000 feet (914 m)short All six crew members and 83 passengers were killed. One of the passengers died several months after the accident.

2. 2 August 1985; Delta Air Lines L1011-1; Dallas, TX: The aircraft crashed shortly before landing after encountering a wind shear from a passing thunderstorm. Eight of the 11 crew members and 128 of the 152 passengers were killed. One person in a passing car was also killed.

3. 31 August 1988; Delta Air Lines 727-200; Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, TX: The aircraft stalled and crashed on takeoff due to the flaps not being properly set by the flight crew. Two of the seven crew members and 12 of the 101 passengers were killed

4. 21 August 1995; Delta Connection (Atlantic Southeast Airlines) Embraer Brasilia; near Carrolton, GA: As the aircraft was climbing through 18,000 feet, the left propeller shed a blade and the propeller would not feather. The crew was unable to maintain altitude and diverted to a nearby airport. The airplane hit trees and crashed about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the airport and was destroyed by fire. One of the three crew members and seven of the 26 passengers were killed.

5. 6 July 1996; Delta MD-88; Pensacola, FL: During the takeoff, the left engine sustained an uncontained failure, causing pieces of the engine to penetrate the cabin, killing two of the 137 passengers.
   NTSB Full Report

6. 9 January 1997; Delta Connection (Comair) Embraer Brasilia; near Monroe, MI: The aircraft was en route to Detroit Metro Airport from Cincinnati when it crashed shortly before dusk in a field about 20 miles (32 km) south of the airport. According to various news reports, the aircraft spiraled into the ground and was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire. The weather at the time was overcast with snow, visibility 1.5 miles (2.4 km), and light winds. The flight crew did not have any unusual communications with air traffic control prior to the crash. All three crew members and 26 passengers were killed.

7. 27 August 2006; Delta Connection (Comair) CRJ-100; Lexington, KY: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Lexington, KY to Atlanta, GA. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, about one half mile (800 m) from the end of the departure runway. The event occurred shortly before sunrise, and there was no reported precipitation at the time of the event. The aircraft took off on a shorter runway that is typically used by smaller private aircraft rather than the airport's main runway.
   Two of the three crew members and all 47 passengers were killed.
   Canadair CRJ plane crashes
   Plane crashes with a sole survivor
   NTSB Full Report
   
   5 March 2015; Delta Airlines MD88; N909DL; flight DL1086; New York, NY: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Atlanta and New York's La Guardia Airport, and had a landing excursion that led to an emergency evacuation. The aircraft landed on runway 13 and departed to the left side of the runway, coming to rest on a dike that separated the runway area from the waters of Flushing Bay. At the time of the event, it had been snowing, with freezing fog conditions and below freezing temperatures. An A319 that had preceded the Delta jet had reported good braking action on runway 13. The aircraft was also affected by both a crosswind and a tailwind during the landing. None of the 125 passengers or five crew members were seriously injured.
   MD80 plane crashes

Delta Air Lines Fleet