The Nation - News from Sept. 27, 1989

Federal investigators blamed the captain and first officer and failure of a takeoff warning system for the crash of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 727 at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport on Aug. 31, 1988, that killed 14 people. The National Transportation Safety Board, voting 4 to 1, said the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration contributed to the cause of the crash. Delta in July conceded that errors by its flight crew, in failing to set the craft’s flaps and slats in the proper takeoff configuration, led to the crash. The NTSB said Delta was lax in failing to modify operating procedures, pilots’ manuals, checklists, training and crew-checking programs. The board said the FAA showed a lack of action in correcting Delta’s deficiencies and a lack of accountability in air carrier inspections.