Flight 191 hits the headlines again
Even the least superstitious of travellers might want to avoid Flight 191.
The flight number, which has already been linked to a number of tragedies, hit the headlines again this week when a JetBlue pilot suffered an apparent breakdown on flight number 191 from New York to Las Vegas (see earlier story).
"191 is one of the most tragic of flight numbers," reported Scott McCartney in his Wall Street Journal column The Middle Seat.
Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed in wind shear just before landing at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1985, killing 137 people including one man on the ground.
American Airlines Flight 191 was the DC-10 that had an engine rip off from under the wing, severing hydraulic lines and sending the jumbo jet into a field near the end of the runway. The 1979 crash killed 271 people on board and led to a grounding of all DC-10s until technical issues were resolved, the newspaper said.
"You won’t find a flight 191 at either Delta or American anymore. Airlines eliminate crashed flight numbers from use," McCartney wrote.
Since the most recent 191 incident, JetBlue Capt. Clayton Osbon, 49, has been suspended from his duties and charged with interfering with cabin crew.
By David Wilkening, TravelMole US
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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