At only 4 years old, Crocker was the lone survivor of a 1987 plane crash that killed 154 people aboard and two on the ground near Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
At 20:44:04, Flight 255 was cleared for takeoff. : 3 Flight 255 made its takeoff roll on Detroit's runway 3C at 20:44:21, with Maus at the controls, as recorded on the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR): : 3
Flight 255's captain was 57-year-old John R. Maus, from Las Vegas, Nevada. Maus was an experienced pilot who had worked for the airline for 31 years, flying Fairchild F-27s, Boeing 727s, Boeing 757s, McDonnell Douglas DC-9s, and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft (including the MD-82).
Flight 255 made its takeoff roll on Detroit's runway 3C at 20:44:21, with Maus at the controls, as recorded on the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR): : 3 Citation five ninety four Charlie charlie metro tower winds three zero zero at thirteen runway three right cleared to land where are you parking on the field.
Before boarding Flight 255, he called his roommate, Mike Daniels, to make sure he would be at John Wayne Airport to pick him up.
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. All but one of the 153 passengers and crew members were killed.
In Toledo , Ohio, a week ago today, Hidi Ratliff was eager to get home to Santa Ana and begin cheerleading practice.
As the afternoon shadows grew longer, passengers booked on Flight 255 began converging on the Detroit airport.
Her daughter had been out with friends at an amusement park on Lake Erie until 2:30 a.m., and her father was angry.
Saturday night before the flight home, Lisa, Raphael, Dawn and her finance had a feast, eating dozens of clams and talking about the future--Dawn’s wedding in October and Raphael’s dream of traveling someday to Italy.
Each needed to be in Orange County that night. The plane they boarded was a long-bodied MD-80, an updated version of the DC-9. 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.
First responder to 1987 crash of Flight 255 releases song about tragic day. The plane hit lampposts and a rental-car office. It then crashed onto Middlebelt Road and struck vehicles, killing two people on the ground. The plane began to break apart, bursting into flames as it hit a railroad and an overpass on I-94.
Seven were from Orange County, California, and the remainder were from Arizona, Michigan or other states. Nick Vanos, a 24-year-old center for the Phoenix Suns, was killed. The Northwest hangar at the airport served as a temporary morgue.
The flight was headed to California when it left the gate in Detroit. The DC-9 Super 82 pilots forgot to conduct their pre-flight checks, as a result, the warning system never turned on.
As of 2013, the crash is the fourth-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history. The victims of the crash included NBA player Nick Vanos, seven people from Orange County, California and a four-month old baby from Arizona. More than 30 of the passengers were under 25.
Ken Haddad is the digital special projects manager for WDIV / ClickOnDetroit.com. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. He's been with WDIV since 2013.
Following are names of 155 of at least 156 victims in the crash of a Northwest Airlines jet Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, including six crew members, 147 passengers and two people killed on the ground.
Northwest on Monday released the names of the crew on Flight 255 and the names of three off-duty employes who were killed aboard the plane. However, the airline has repeatedly said it will not release a passenger list. The names and ages, where available, were compiled from various sources, including the Wayne County medical examiner's office ...
The press release received by the Arizona Republic said the settlement was the 'result of vigorous efforts of the Honorable Louis C. Bechtle, who is serving as coordinator for the (Flight) 255 litigation.'. The few claims against Northwest not covered by the settlement have been deferred or removed from the current trial, the press release said.
Experts say damages in the Flight 255 case are certain to run into the millions of dollars.
DETROIT -- A tentative out-of-court settlement has been reached in about two-thirds of the 157 lawsuits stemming from the 1987 crash of Northwest Flight 255 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing 156 peopleand leaving only a single survivor, it was reported.
John Mayer, court executive, said Cook 'has not made any statement about any aspect of the Northwest Airlines Flight 255 case. And he will not make any statement of any kind about any of the cases as long as any claims are pending. And maybe not even after that. Anything he says will be made from the bench.'.
Family and friends of Flight 255 victims gathered at the memorial site for a ceremony at 8 p.m. Wednesday to honor the lives of their loved ones. As the sun set, about 200 people listened as a violinist played while mourners snapped photos or paused in front of a marble memorial adorned with flowers and stuffed animals.
on a Sunday evening, the MD-82 airplane bound for Phoenix stalled and struck a light pole near the end of the runway, ripping a hole in the left wing and igniting the jet fuel stored there. The plane then hit an Avis car rental building and crashed onto Middlebelt, just north of Wick Road. When the airplane hit the eastbound I-94 overpass, it burst into flames.
The law provides protection and benefits to families and survivors of aviation disasters including prompt notification, family support services, briefing for families about investigations before press notification, a memorial service and bans unsolicited communication from attorneys for 45 days after a crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board later determined the plane’s crew failed to use a checklist to ensure that wing flaps and slats were extended.
Romulus — Dee Murdy knew just after the plane crashed. Her son was on board. Thirty years ago, as she departed Detroit Metropolitan Airport after dropping off her 22-year-old son, Kirk, Murdy witnessed Northwest Airlines Flight 255 come crashing down into a nearby building before exploding. “I knew it was his plane,” she said.
Lone survivor in 1987 Michigan plane crash says she thinks about it every day. Cecelia Crocker , seen here as an adult and as child back in 1987, was the lone survivor of a plane crash near Detroit Metropolitan Airport that killed 156 people. (AP)
16, 1987, when it tilted slightly. The left wing clipped a light pole, and the damaged airliner sheared the top off a rental car building. The MD-80 left a half-mile trail of bodies, charred wreckage, magazines and trays of food along Middle Belt Road when it crashed.
The filmmakers permitted The Associated Press to view the film ahead of the screenings.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the plane's crew failed to set the wing flaps properly for takeoff. The agency also said a cockpit warning system did not alert the crew to the problem.
The movie focuses on Crocker - known as Cecelia Cichan at the time of the crash - as well as three other "sole survivors" of plane crashes: George Lamson Jr., a then 17-year-old from Plymouth, Minn., who was aboard a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno, ...
Flowers and pictures are shown at the memorial in Romulus, Mich. to mark the 25th anniversary of the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 near Detroit Metropolitan Airport. (Paul Sancya/AP) It's been more than a quarter-century since Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.
At only 4 years old, Crocker was the lone survivor of a 1987 plane crash that killed 154 people aboard and two on the ground near Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Advertisement. In the new documentary, "Sole Survivor," Crocker breaks her silence, discussing how the crash of the Phoenix-bound jetliner has affected her.
Cecelia Cichan recovers in a hospital room at the University of Michigan Medical Center Oct. 9, 1987. (Anonymous/AP)
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the plane's crew failed to set the wing flaps properly for takeoff. The agency also said a cockpit warning system did not alert the crew to the problem.
On August 16, 1987, one hundred and fifty-six people were killed when Northwest Flight 255 out of Detroit Metro Airport did not put out its wing flaps and slats, which resulted in dangerously low altitude on takeoff.
Tonight, at the former crash site near Metro Detroit Airport, families of the victims of NW flight 255 will mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy (Cichan is not expected to be there).
The plane clipped a light pole, then a building, and crashed to the ground at about 8:46 p.m. killing all of the crew and passengers except for 4-year-old Cecelia Cichan from Tempe, Arizona.
He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.
Dickens said Cichan still has memories of the day of the crash, and in the documentary clips shown on WDIV, Cichan said she thinks about the accident everyday.
Cichan has never spoken publicly about the crash and the death of her family, but now, on the 25th anniversary, she's speaking about her experience in the documentary film Sole Survivor.