1979 Year in Review

Jim Lounsbury: Friday, May 25th, American Airlines' Flight 191, a DC-10 wide-bodied jet, taxies away from the gate at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for a routine flight to Los Angeles. Minutes later, the airplane crashes; there were no survivors. Here is Chris Graham in Chicago.

Chris Graham: "Everything was routine for American Airline Flight 191; but as the plane rolled down the runaway, something happened. The number-one engine fell off; the plane, now airborne, veered to the left and crashed. There were no survivors.

"Eyewitness Tom Ring saw the crippled jet fly directly overhead minus one engine."

Tom Ring: "I was looking right at it when we saw the one engine goin'. It … he just veered with their left wing down and he hit that, it was just terrible."

Chris Graham: "Ring and another man dashed across the street to the crash site, but there was nothing they could do."

Tom Ring: "Me and the Mr. Carpenter that was here went right over that fence and we were in there, and there was nothing we could do, nothing, every ... I didn't see a person moving anywhere. There was -- there was -- the fire was just so intense you couldn't go into it to get anything out anyways; they had to wait."

Chris Graham: "The road leading to the crash site was soon lined with ambulances; they went nowhere, there was no one to take. And soon the suburban hospitals that had been put on emergency alert were taken off those alerts. Chris Graham, Chicago."