Turkish Airlines Flight 981 departed from Istanbul on a scheduled flight to London. This flight also included a stopover in Paris. The plane was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The plane was carrying 335 passengers and 11 crew members. An incorrectly secured cargo door opened during the flight, causing an explosive decompression situation. The issue with the cargo door was a known issue, one that had previously caused another crash. A remedy was found for this, and documents stated that this was applied to Flight 981...but it had not been. The plane crashed into the Ermenonville Forest in Oise, France. The speed of the plane at impact was approximately 487 miles per hour. There were no survivors, with only 188 bodies being visually identifiable. This crash was the first to exceed 200 deaths. This crash also holds the title of being the deadliest plane crash in France, the deadliest DC-10 crash, and the deadliest single-aircraft accident with no survivors. As you can imagine, there were lawsuits and investigations aplenty after this crash, AS THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Accidents happen, nothing is 100% safe, but people should be held responsible for not doing their jobs, fixing problems, or creating a safe environment for the public they serve.

This crash was featured on an episode of Mayday, and this episode also featured a similar story of American Airlines Flight 96, which had the same issue with the cargo door. This book was well researched. There are three books in this Air Disasters series, and I have one left to go. If you are interested in aviation and aviation disasters, I recommend checking out this author.