5 charged after Ulta beauty store robbery, officer-involved shooting in Green Oak Twp. Romulus, Michigan. Crocker has never attended a memorial event, according to Zanger. The remaining 149 passengers, including her parents and brother, along with six crewmembers and two people on the ground, all perished in the crash. Tonight, at the former. View the Memorial Marker. And nowhere does it live on stronger than in Cecelia, the miracle survivor of Flight 255. Cecelia Cichan, then 4, formerly of Tempe, was the sole survivor in that crash. Flight Crew of Northwest Airlines Flight 255: Captain John R. Maus, 57, of Las Vegas, Nevada: . to set their wing flaps. ROMULUS, Mich. (WJBK) - 31 years ago Thursday, Northwest Flight 255 took off from Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus, bound for Phoenix. The plane then rolled 90 degrees the opposite way and sheared off most of the right wing when it struck the roof of an Avis rental-car franchise near Middlebelt Road. It would take about a year before the National Transportation Safety Board would determine the cause to be pilot error, noting that a taxi checklist was not used to ensure the flaps and slats were extended for takeoff. Reports indicate the aircraft never rose more than 50 feet off the ground. Zanger is among about six people organizing Thursdays 25th anniversary memorial in Michigan where more than 200 people are expected to attend. He was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back.. A 4-year-old girl was the only survivor. Zangers brother, Tony Zanger of Monroe is among six people helping to organize a memorial ceremony at the crash site in Romulus where a granite memorial is containing the 156 names of the people who died as a result of the crash 154 on the plane and two motorists on the ground. Just before 8 she called and said she was leaving on Northwest Flight 255. All told, 156 people were killed in the tragedy. The sole survivor was found by Romulus firemen still strapped in her seat suffering from severe burns and broken bones. Seconds later, it crashed and exploded into a ball of flames. Fall practice was to open the day after he returned. Metro Airport. A granite monument honors those killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed on Aug. 16, 1987. , also is a marker to the crash victims from the first responders who were called to the scene. No release date has been set yet. William Wilder, a San Clemente engineer, was in the Detroit airport reading a Western novel but did not hear the Flight 255 boarding announcement, realizing too late that the plane had left. Registry N312RC, was a regularly scheduled She was excited about the trip, her first to California. Sup met Sullivan playing sand volleyball at Minder Binders near University and McClintock drives in Tempe in the early 1980s. It is a story of survival that defies belief. At the airport she was told the plane had developed mechanical problems, so she went to Northwest Airlines--and got one of the last open seats on Flight 255. Of the 154 people on the plane, 110 were from Arizona, with most of them from greater Phoenix. Arlene Nelson was from Detroit and Justin Keener was from Scottsdale, Arizona. Steve drove his coworker to the airport. On May 25, 1979, one of the most horrifying disasters in Chicago and American history took place at O'Hare International Airport when American Airlines Flight 191 literally fell from the sky, killing all of the 271 passengers and crew on board. Executive Summary: About 2046 eastern daylight time on August After an longer than normal roll, Flight 255, a McDonnell the aircraft lifted off and immediately began rocking laterally. 1997, killing all 26 passengers and three crew members. Takeoff initiated on Runway 3C at approximately 8:45 PM with a speed of 170 knots / 195 MPH. Image 1 of 5. . This California farm kingdom holds a key, Six people, including mother and baby, killed in Tulare County; drug cartel suspected, Im afraid for her life: Riverside CC womens coach harassed after Title IX suit, New Bay Area maps show hidden flood risk from sea level rise and groundwater, Who would execute a baby? Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek will be there and bring us more. DETROIT Authorities are searching for a man who, posing as a Catholic priest, comforted grieving relatives of the crash victims of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 while apparently soliciting . But she doesnt have any memory of how it happened., At the funeral of her parents and brother in St Alphonsus Church in Maple Glen, the Reverend Andrew Robberecht, who married the Cichans and baptised their two children, said: Cecelia reminds us and will always remind us of the miracle of life.. (AP Photo, File) (AP Photo, File), Wedding plans exchanged for funeral plans: Michael Zanger, 23, (left) and his fiancee Hollins Langton, 26, of Phoenix, in their engagement picture. Cecelia said that she had finally decided to open up about the crash because the film was a group project and thats why Im willing to get involved and be part of something bigger. 'Absurd:' Mother of Zion Foster blasts prison release of man who disposed her body into dumpster. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. But its better than nothing.. Twenty-nine passengers on board Flight 255 were under the age of 20. His friend was Mike Sullivan of Chandler, a guy Sup described as someone who always carried a smile, always cared to listen, a good person, a good friend, a good father and a great volleyball player whose nickname was Captain Crunch., Mike was just a great guy, said Sup, 48, who works as a computer software engineer for JDA Software in Scottsdale. Click In Loving Memory | Peter Frank, 25, had moved to Orange County in February from Florida, taking a job as a marketing manager for an electronics wholesale company in Irvine. Downriver History & Facts -- Copyright (C) 2013-2022 by Kevin Harrison -- All rights reserved, The remnants of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 255 lay along Middle Belt road just south of I-94. Pages: 138 I gave her some money, and we kissed, Donnie Ratliff said. Her grandmother reminded her to go see one of her aunts, who was old and ill, because it might be the last chance she had. It never rose more than 50 feet off the ground. A financial consultant from Huntington Beach, she had been visiting her parents in the Arizona capital. Married last October, this was the couples first vacation since their honeymoon. You could see people jumping out of the windows and on fire and falling back down, said Gordon Atkins, 26, an airport employee who was driving to work when the plane lost power and plummeted after takeoff Sunday night from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Cecelia Crocker, nee Cichan, was 4 years old when the airliner went down shortly after takeoff near Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a Sunday night in 1987. Then we heard a crash and the whole building shook. Its hard to go back and work knowing some of what I would have worked for isnt there.. It pulled away from the terminal into the muggy Michigan twilight nearly on schedule. Rotating to the left an additional 90 degrees, it struck the southeastern corner of the Avis Car Rental building. Helios Airways Flight 522 was a scheduled passenger flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Prague, Czech Republic, with a stopover in Athens, Greece.Shortly after take-off on 14 August 2005, air traffic control (ATC) lost contact with the aircraft operating the flight, named Olympia; it eventually crashed near Grammatiko, Greece, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board. She was found buckled up in her seat several rows away from her parents and brother. I told her no, you need to stay and spend time with your father said Mary Ann Ratliff, We picked the 16th for her to come home because cheerleading practice (at Costa Mesa High School) started the 17th., Her father, Donnie Ratliff, is thankful for the two weeks he had with Hidi. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Only one person survived: Cecelia Cichan, who was 4 at the time. The Crash | Luck--the explanation for the unexplainable twists and turns that spare some from disasters--was evident here, too. They said they had no qualms about taking the same flight home. ROMULUS Twenty-five years after the worst aviation disaster in state history, the sole survivor of Northwest Flight 255 is sharing her story. They were heading back to Phoenix, Arizona from Michigan after celebrating Paulas birthday at her parents home. Phoenix-bound Northwest Flight 255 crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Aug. 16, 1987, killing 156 people. The McDonnell Douglass MD-80, piloted by Capt. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was traveling from Amsterdam to Malaysia when it went missing near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. They shared the third one, bought Joannes magazines at Arbor Drugs and continued to the airport. In June 2011, she was interviewed for a documentary Sole Survivor about people who are the only survivors of plane crashes, a series scheduled to be released sometime this year. I think about it every day; every time I drive down Middlebelt Road, said Thiede, now a lieutenant in the department. Dr Jai Prasad, the doctor who led the team which cared for the young girl, said at the time: She understands that she has lost her father and her mother, and her brother. The bodies of victims of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrive at the Torez train station in the back of a truck to be loaded into a refrigerated train car on July 21, 2014 in Torez . to the aircraft takeoff warning system. Operator: Northwest Airlines, Inc. passenger flight and was en route to Phoenix, Arizona, with 149 by a fireman for safety, when they opened the door they found two dead bodies still buckled into their seats, apparently from one of the airplanes. Winds light and variable.. The left wing clipped a light pole, and the damaged airliner sheared the top off a rental car building. racist or sexually-oriented language. Northwest Flight 255 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight of a MD-82, that day being N312RC, between Saginaw and Santa Ana, California, with en route stops at Detroit and Phoenix, Arizona. You could see people jumping out of the . October 29, 1989. Her luggage was placed on another Continental flight to John Wayne Airport. As a result of the crash, motorists were struck and the fuselage flew across the roadway just north of the Wick Road intersection. He was traveling a lot and doing well. He met her for the first time as an adult on her wedding day when he watched her walk down the aisle to become Cecelia Crocker. Kathy and I were good friends and after the kids went to bed, we sometimes shared a glass of wine. On the documentary, Cecelia said she agreed to grant the interview for the program because it involves a group of people and doesnt focus on just one person. He had been at a family reunion in Toledo but left early. (The plane) was tilted on his left side, Christofis said. That aircraft had started the day at John Wayne Airport, where crews cleaned and fueled it at dawn for the cross-country workout that followed. As soon as escrow closed, they would move from the rented town house in Laguna Hills. The aircraft then went into a stall, rotating 40 degrees to its left when it struck a light pole near the end of the runway, severing a portion of its left wing while igniting jet fuel. Advertisement. Wreckage was strewn a half-mile along a road, under a railroad trestle and two highway overpasses, and police arrested six people allegedly for looting the site. Family and friends of the victims and others from across the Metro Detroit area (including local media) attended, and a . She returned to the Northwest counter the next night, choosing a seat for the same flight with the same number. EJ Montini: Aug.16, 1987, Northwest Flight 255 took off from Detroit, bound for . We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Nick Vanos, a center for the NBAs Phoenix Suns, was among those killed. She now is one of 14 people who have been interviewed for the documentary Sole Survivor, which sought out people who are the only ones to live through major air crashes. John Thiede was a Romulus firefighter the night the plane crashed and he was on the north side of the crash scene within minutes. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. runway. Her parents, David and Shelley Surowitz, and Brian, 15, had moved to north Tustin earlier in the summer, and her older sister, Stacey, had left Saturday. They bought three souviakias, and ate one each. It was such a traumatic event for the entire community., Suzanne Weaver added: They were enthusiastic and very friendly. Relative of one of the victims of the crash of Air China flight CA 129 weeps near the aircraft's wreckage April 17, 2002 in Kimhae, South Korea. Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on August 16, 1987, at about 8:46 p.m. EDT (00:46 UTC August 17), killing all six crew members and 148 of its 149 passengers. The postcrash investigation also found that a warning system that would have alerted the crew the plane was not properly configured for takeoff did not operate. He was the father of a 5-year-old son, Ryan, at the time of his death. Details: The aircraft stalled and crashed during takeoff from Sup said he knows that Mike is smiling down on them as his friends, now in their 40s, beat teams consisting of players about half their age. each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Crocker, who graduated from the University of Alabama and now lives on the East Coast, still has scars from the burns she suffered in the crash. Flames were coming up from both sides as I drove over the top of the bridge.. Bill was the star of the family who loved basketball. Shortly after dropping him off, he witnessed the second worst air disaster in the United States history, the crash of Northwest Flight 255, the flight that he skipped. He wanted to go into sports medicine and attending Saddleback College was the first step, said his father, Reid Bushong, a science teacher at a Newport Beach middle school. We exchanged wedding plans for funeral plans. In one of the magazines, Joanne found her weekly horoscope. It's been 35 years since Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed onto I-94, killing all but one passenger. But luck works both ways and last Sunday in Detroit was no different. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, Although Cecelia has never attended one of the memorial services involving the plane crash, she often reaches out to family members of the crash victims who died. See Agent.. Its kind of hard not to think about it. STAFF FILE PHOTO BY . It looked like he had a hard time taking off. The Associated Press contributed to this report. After breakfast Sunday, she packed and then visited her grandmother. GEOFFREY HAYNES August 17, 1987. Hidi had flown to Ohio with her mother, Mary Ann, late last month. The More than a dozen passengers were employees of the company. The youngest was 4-month-old Katelyn Best, of Mesa, Arizona. Use the 'Report' link on 7th deadliest plane crash in US history. to takeoff to beat noise curfews at their destination, failed Cecelia Cichan was just four years old when she became the sole survivor of doomed Northwest Airlines Flight 255. She had slept little Sunday night, and now she was chain-smoking as she waited at Gate 26 for this new Flight 255. Since then, Metro has seen a handful of fatalities, including a Dec. 3, 1990, collision on a runway that killed seven passengers and a flight attendant. Some people were seen carrying debris. NW255 rotated for takeoff 1200-1500 Ill see you tomorrow, she told him the night before she was scheduled to fly west to the familys new home in north Tustin. Of the 156 people who died in the plane crash, 110 were from Arizona and 32 were from the East Valley. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the crash probably was due to the crews failure to use a taxi checklist to ensure the flaps and slats were extended for takeoff. Traveling nearly 200 mph, the wing caught fire and the plane rolled, hitting an Avis car rental building before crashing onto Middlebelt Road. Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas Super MD-80 (MD-82) When it comes to thinking about their lost loved ones or plane crash every day, Tony Zanger of Monroe, Mich., is among many. Atkins companion, Carlos Valasquez, 19, said he tried to help a crash victim whose clothes were on fire. This Sole Survivor project is more about a group, and thats why Im willing to get involved and be part of something bigger.. DETROIT (AP) _ Northwest Airlines has reached tentative settlements in nearly all of the lawsuits filed against it in the wake of the Aug. 16, 1987. escorted to her apt. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. When I saw him come off that plane, Rebecca Wilder recalled, I could hardly wait to put my arms around him.. The plane was just clearing the runway at 8:46 p.m. when it tilted slightly. Don't knowingly lie about anyone The stricken jet hit an Avis car hire building before crashing on to a road, hitting several vehicles and breaking apart before finally bursting into flames as it hit a bridge. Before boarding Flight 255, he called his roommate, Mike Daniels, to make sure he would be at John Wayne Airport to pick him up. The black granite memorial was erected in 1994 and stands on a hill above the road where the passengers perished. Flight 255, bound for Phoenix and then Orange County, was airborne only a few moments before it exploded into a fiery ball of jet fuel, metal and body parts on a Detroit highway at the end of Runway 3C. The jet was manufactured in 1981, entering service as a Republic Aircraft. Zanger was attending his 5-year high school class reunion and Langton was home for her bridal shower. 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