PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRLINES FLIGHT 759 JULY 9, 1982 NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Introduction The afternoon of July 9th, 1982 appeared to be just another typical summer day for the Gulf Coast city of New Orleans. Thunderstorms scattered across the region was typical for that time of year and no sense of danger was evident by the inhabitants around or the employees at the New Orleans International Airport that day. Flights were departing on schedule and the weather, although raining with an overcast ceiling of 4100 feet and 5 miles of visibility, the conditions did not raise any concern. The crew of Pan American World Airways Flight 759 settled into their Boeing 727-235 at the Pan American gate and began preparations for departure. The captain, a 45 year old Airline Transport Pilot with 17 years of airline experience and 10 years of experience in the B727, with over 11,000 hours of flight time, of which 10,595 hours were in the B727, was responsible for the days flight. His first officer, Donald Pierce, was a 32 year old commercial pilot with six years of experience in the airlines and was qualified in the B727 for five years. Pierce, the pilot flying that day, had flown 6,100 hours, of which 3,900 hours were in a B727. Flight 759s flight engineer, Leo Noone was 60 years old with 14 years experience in the B727. Noone had flown 19,900 hours, 10,500 of which were in the B727. The crew prepared for what appeared to be a routine flight to Las Vegass McCarran International Airport. 137 passengers boarded the aircraft, which had arrived earlier that day from Miami, Florida, on a regularly scheduled route to San Diego, California. Many of the passengers were excited about their planned weekend of gambling in Las Vegas. Three of its passengers, Erin Ernest, Maylene Deleon, and Mariela Rodriquez were returning home to Las Vegas from Miami where they had participated in a high school graduation cruise. They were all excited about going home and beginning college in the fall. The stopover in New Orleans was routine with no mechanical problems or other issues that the crew had to contend with on this leg of the flight. After receiving clearance to taxi, the aircraft was pushed back and the crew taxied Clipper Defiance N4737 down the taxiway to the threshold of runway 10. The copilot, concerned about the gusty wind conditions made a couple wind-check requests from the ground controller. The winds were 040 degrees at 8 knots at the start of taxi and by the time he had requested another wind-check a couple of minutes later the winds were 070 deg. at 17 kts, with peak gust at 23 kts. The captain advised the copilot, who was conducting the takeoff, to let his speed build up on the takeoff roll and to turn off the air conditioning packs in order to obtain maximum thrust. After the final checklists were read before takeoff, the copilot requested and received clearance from the air traffic controller to depart runway 10.

The pilot taxied onto the designated runway and applied throttle to the aircrafts three engines. As the engines spooled up the aircraft began accelerating down the runway. The captain gave the copilot the callouts for reaching 80 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS), rotation speed (Vr), and the takeoff safety speed (V2). At approximately 7,000 feet down the runway, Clipper Defiance lifted off the ground and pitched to a normal climb attitude as it began its initial climb segment. The gear was placed in the up position after takeoff and the aircraft continued accelerating. At approximately 100-150 feet above the ground level (AGL) the aircraft began to settle back towards the earth. The captain cautioned the copilot of his descent and commanded him to come back on the control yoke. The aircraft continued to descend. The aircrafts Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) alarm began to sound as the aircraft continued sinking towards the ground. The pilot continued to pitch the aircraft with full power. He initiated a slight bank to the left. The aircraft, now at an altitude of 50 feet above ground level, had arrested its descent rate. Unfortunately, a line of trees approximately 2,700 feet from the end of the runway blocked the aircrafts path. The airliner struck the trees and rolled to the left, contacting the ground with an explosion on impact. The ensuing fireball of the fuel laden aircraft then plowed its way through the Roosevelt subdivision of Kenner, Louisiana. In the process it destroyed or damaged 15 homes in a residential neighborhood east of the airport. In all 153 people lost their lives. All of the aircrafts passengers were killed, all 8 crew members, and 8 residents on the ground. Analysis The Boeing 727-235 with Federal Aviation Administration registration N4737, was owned by Pan American Airlines. The aircraft was built in 1967 with construction number 19457/518, with its first flight being conducted on January 24th, 1968 (14 years and 6 months prior to the accident). It was delivered to National Airlines on January 31, 1968 and was christened with the name 37 Susan/Erica. The aircraft remained in service with National Airlines until the merger with Pan Am, when it was renamed Clipper Defiance in 1970. The name Clipper Defiance has a history with Pan Am, having been used first on a Pan Am DC-4 (N6104C), which was placed in to service in 1946. After the DC-4 was retired the name was given to one of Pan Ams new Boeing 707 jets (N704PA), which was used to carry the rock band, the Beatles, to the United States for the first time in February 7, 1964. When the aircraft was no longer used in Pan Am service the name was given to Pan Ams National Airline acquired B727, N4737 in 1970. The aircraft had accumulated 39,253 hours on the airframe prior to the accident. Flight 759s crew that day was Captain Kenneth L. McCullers (45); Copilot Donald G. Pierce (32); Flight Engineer Leo B. Noone (60); Purser Dennis M. Donnelly (30); Steward James P. Fijut (37); Stewardess Lucille V. Brown (35); Stewardess Vivian L. Ford (34). The crews experience was notable as the captain was considered an above average pilot, by Pan American training personnel. He was described as having excellent judgment and the ability to exercise command. In his career he had experienced an inflight emergency before where he had a complete loss of A.C. electrical power and executed an emergency landing at Houston International Airport in Texas, on January 1, 1979.

The weather warning capability at the New Orleans International Airport The shear wind detected and reported.. Pilot responses and what Pan Am manual suggest The crews training at Pan American for encountering and handling a microburst

The NTSBs analysis of the crews ability to counter the microburst (pg 61 NTSB report) The best defense against the windshear or microburst is complete avoidance. However, if unavoidable, it is now recommended that on recognizing a possible encounter with severe windshear/microburst, the pilot should increase the thrust to its maximum and rotate that aircraft to an initial attltude, called the target pitch angle, which depends on the type of airplane. The recommended target pitch angle for transport aircraft is about 15 degrees. The pilot is advised to hold these settings until he or she is out of the low-level windshear or microburst region. Performance, Stability, and Control of Airplanes by Bandu N. Pamadi pg 151 ISBN 1-56347-583-9 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., Reston, Virginia 2004 Changes made and recommendations of the NTSB

How Flight 759 has changed aviation and its weather reporting standards

Pan Am Flight 759, operated by a Boeing 727-235, N4737 Clipper Defiance, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Miami to San Diego, with en route stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas. On July 9, 1982, the plane that made this route was forced down by a microburst and crashed into the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. All 145 people on board, as well as 8 more on the ground, were killed. The crash had the highest number of aviation fatalities in 1982, and as of 2013 remains the fifth-deadliest air disaster to occur in United States territory. The aircraft, a Boeing 727200, construction number 19457/518, built in 1967, was delivered to National Airlines on January 31, 1968. The aircraft name was 37 Susan/Erica and was registered as N4737, and remained part of the National fleet until the merger with Pan Am where it was renamed as Clipper Defiance. On afternoon of the accident, the aircraft was carrying 137 passengers and one non-revenue passenger in the cockpit jumpseat, along with a crew of seven. The captain was Kenneth McCullers. Flight 759 began its takeoff from Runway 10 at the New Orleans International Airport (now Louis Armstrong New Orleans International), in Kenner, Louisiana at 4:07:57 PM central

daylight time. At the time of Flight 759's takeoff, there were thunderstorms over the east end of the airport. The winds were gusty and swirling. Flight 759 lifted off the runway, climbed to an altitude of between 95 and 150 feet (29 and 46 m), and then began to descend. About 2,376 feet (724 m) from the end of runway, the aircraft struck a line of trees at an altitude of about 50 feet (15 m). The aircraft continued descending for another 2,234 feet (681 m), hitting trees and houses before crashing in the residential area of Kenner, La., about 4,610 feet (1405 m) from the end of the runway. The aircraft was destroyed during the impact, explosion, and subsequent ground fire. A total of 153 people were killed (all 145 passengers and crew on board and 8 on the ground). Another 4 people on the ground sustained injuries. In one of the destroyed houses, a baby was discovered in a crib covered with debris that protected her from the flames.[1] Six houses were destroyed; five houses were damaged substantially.[2] The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the aircraft's encounter with a microburst-induced wind shear during the liftoff, which imposed a downdraft and a decreasing headwind, the effects of which the pilot would have had difficulty recognizing and reacting to in time for the aircraft's descent to be stopped before its impact with trees. Contributing to the accident was the limited capability of then-current wind shear detection technology;[3] this, along with the similar crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191 three years later led to the development of the airborne wind shear detection and alert system and the mandate by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration have on-board windshear detection systems installed by 1993.[4] A memorial to the crash victims is located at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Kenner, Louisiana. Royd Anderson wrote and produced a documentary on the crash in 2012.

Captain Kenneth L. McCullers and copilot Donald G. Pierce, knowing that a crash landing was imminent, veered the plane left toward the nearby West Metairie Canal in a desperate attempt to redirect the plane away from a residential neighborhood. In the process, the plane clipped trees and snapped a powerline. The left wing plowed into the ground, causing the plane to cartwheel and skid and then explode with more than eight thousand gallons of unspent jet fuel aboard. Flight 759 cut a deadly swath through Kenner, destroying six homes and damaging five others in a four-block area less than 5,000 feet from the end of the runway. Buried deep within the crash report was news of a broken wind-shear detector on the western edge of the east-west runway (the runway that 759 departed from); hunters had damaged it with gunfire shortly after it was installed. It was f ixed, but hunters shot it out again. They gave up fixing it, said Brad Dunbar, a spokesman for the NTSB. Ray P. Sick, a safety officer for the Professional Air Traffic Controller

Organization at New Orleans International Airport, reported it in unsatisfactory condition to the FAA on Oct 29, 1980; it was out of service for approximately one year and eight months prior to the crash. Pan American Airlines and the FAA, facing lawsuits in excess of $3 billion, accepted the blame for the crash in a hearing on May 13, 1983, in New Orleans and offered victims families an undisclosed settlement. Wendell Gsutier, a lawyer representing several families, called the move astounding.

CRASH VICTIM NAMES, HOMES LISTED. New York (UPI) -- Following is a list of victims of the crash of Pan American World Airways Flight 759 in Kenner, La., as released by the airline. Passengers' hometowns were not immediately available. KENNETH L. McCULLERS, 45, captain, Sebastian, Fla. DONALD G. PIERCE, 32, first officer, Miami Lakes, Fla. LEO B. NOONE, 60, flight engineer, Miami, Fla. DENNIS M. DONNELLY, 30, purser, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. JAMES P. FIJUT, 37, steward, Miramar, Fla. LUCILLE V. BROWN, 35, stewardess, Hollywood, Fla. VIVIAN L. FORD, 34, stewardess, West Hollywood, Fla. J. AGUIAR, Montevideo, Uruguay. J. AGUILAR, Mexico City. F. ALEJANDRO, Mexico City. D. ALLAN, Miami area. D. ALLAN, Miami area. F. ALVARADO, Barqusiteno, Venezuela. I, ALVAREZ. G. BARLOW, Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas. G. BARLOW, Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas. A. BARQUE, Miami area. N. BARQUE, Miami area. B. BECKER. C. BONNICK, Connecticut. BOURGEOIS (no first initial available), Paris, France. BOURGEOIS (no first initial available), Paris, France. BOURGEOIS (no first initial available), Paris, France. BOURGEOIS (no first initial available), Paris, France. A. BRUN, Montevideo, Uruguay. S. BRUN, Montevideo, Uruguay. H. BRYAN, Kingston, Jamaica.

BULAJIC (no first initial available). BLUAJIC (no first initial available). CASEY (no first initial available), New Orleans. CASEY (no first initial available), New Orleans. A. CORREGE, Montevideo, Uruguay. CUNNINGS (no first initial available). CUNNINGS (no first initial available). W. DARRA. DARRA (no first initial available). L. DARTEZ. D. DOTSON. M. DEARVILLE. H. DeJESUS. M. DeJESUS. Maylene DELEON a resident of Las Vegas was returning from a HS graduation cruise J. DELORME, Lausarne, Switzerland. S. DELORME, Lausarne, Switzerland. A. DELORME, Lausarne, Switzerland. C. DELORME, Lausarne, Switzerland. DEVAUX (no first initial available). E. DIXON, Miami. T. DOLLOR, Los Angeles. Willie Mae DUPRE, Houma, La. Louis DUPRE, Houma, La. W. EDMONDS, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. EDMONDS (no first initial available), Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Erin ERNEST a 17 year old resident of Las Vegas was returning from a HS graduation cruise EYMARD (no first initial available), Grayston, La. EYMARD (no first initial available), Grayston, La. FITZGERALD (no first initial available), New Orleans. FITZGERALD (no first initial available), New Orelans. J. FORBES. J. FRANK. M. FRANK. S. FU, Hong Kong. K. FU, Hong Kong. K. FU, Hong Kong. N. GEWLD.

T. GEWLD. J. GEWLD. G. GEWLD. B. GOERS, Adelaide, Australia. M. GOERS, Adelaide, Australia. GONZALEZ (no first initial available), Houma, La. GONZALEZ (no first initial available), Houma, La. W. GOUDEAU, New Orleans. W. GOUDEAU, New Orleans. P. GREENWOOD, New Orleans. L. GREENWOOD, New Orleans. J. GREENWOOD, New Orleans. E. GUIDROZE, Marreo, La. M. HALEY, Munson, Mass. HANSEN (no first initial available), Las Vegas. HARBICH (no first initial available), Brazil. HARBICH (no first initial available), Brazil. HARTFORD (no first initial available). HARTFORD (no first initial available). HARTFORD (no first initial available). J. HILL. E. HOLLINS, Mississippi. HOOD (no first initial available), New Orleans area. J. IVERSTINE, Hammond, La. K. IVERSTINE, Hammond, La. H. JACOBS. H. JACOBS. E. JEFFERS, New Orleans. C. JOHNSON, San Diego, Calif. N. KALM, Miami. KELLY (no first initial available). K. KONDO, Pembroke Pines, Fla. J. KRAHMAN. KRAHMAN (infant). L. LEDET, Houma, La. L. LEDET, Houma, La. LEWIS (no first initial available), La Mesa, Calif. Y. LI.

LINARES (no first initial available), Mexico City. L. ZERWELL (previously given as P. LIVIDAS). E. MARKS, JR., New Orleans. MARKS (no first initial available), New Orleans. B. MATHEWS, Escondido, Calif. MILLAFDOR (no first initial available), New Orleans. MILLAFDOR (no first initial available), New Orleans. MOREIRA (no first initial available), Porto Alegre, Brazil. MOREIRA (no first initial available), Porto Alegre, Brazil. James MORTON on second honeymoon Barbara MORTON on second honeymoon C. NAEGELE. NAEGELE (no first initial available). F. NAEGELE. NARGOET (no first initial available). D. NEIHEUS, Escondido, Calif. S. PAMPIN. A. PAMPIN. PEKER (no first initial available). PEKER (no first initial available). PEKER (no first initial available). R. PELLEBON, New Orleans. R. PHILLIPS. S. POWELL, Niceville, Fla. R. PURCELL, Dallas, Texas. A. ROBINSON. K. ROBINSON. Mariela RODRIGUEZ, resident of Las Vegas was returning from a HS (Bishop Gorman High) graduation cruise M. ROMERO, San Juan, Puerto Rico. SAVOLE (no first initial available). D. SCHAFFER. SCHIEFELDEIN (no first initial available). SCHIEFELDEIN (no first initial available). F. SHAPIRO, N. Miami Beach. A. STEPHENS. J. STEPHENS. S. THOM.

TRIVELLON (no first initial available), Montevideo, Uruguay. TRIVELLON (no first initial available), Montevideo, Uruguay. A. VANOLI, Montevideo, Uruguay. N. VANOLI, Montevideo, Uruguay. Chronicle Telegram Elyria Ohio 1982-07-10

Status: Date: Time:

Final Friday 9 July 1982 16:09

Type: Operator: Registration: C/n / msn: First flight: Total airframe hrs: Engines: Crew: Passengers: Total: Ground casualties: Airplane damage: Airplane fate: Location: Phase: Nature:

Boeing 727-235 Pan American World Airways N4737 19457/518 1968-01-24 (14 years 6 months) 39253 3 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 Fatalities: 138 / Occupants: 138 Fatalities: 145 / Occupants: 145 Fatalities: 8

Destroyed Written off (damaged beyond repair) New Orleans, LA (United States of America) Initial climb (ICL) Domestic Scheduled Passenger New Orleans International Airport, LA (MSY/KMSY), United States of Departure airport: America Destination Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, NV (LAS/KLAS), United States airport: of America Flightnumber: 759 Narrative: Pan Am Flight 759 was a scheduled flight from Miami (MIA) to Las Vegas (LAS), with an en route stop at New Or1eans (MSY). At 15:58:48 Boeing 727 "Clipper Defiance" taxied from its gate at the New Orleans International Airport. Before leaving the gate, the flightcrew had received ATIS message Foxtrot which read in part "....time one eight five five Zulu, weather, two

thousand five hundred scattered, two five thousand thin broken, visibility six miles in haze, temperature niner zero, wind two four zero at two, winds are calm altimeter three zero zero one..." The flightcrew requested runway 10 for the takeoff and ground control cleared the flight to taxi to runway 10. At 15:59:03, the first officer requested a wind check. Winds were 040 degrees at 8 knots. At 16:02:34, while Flight 759 was taxiing to runway 10, the crew heard a transmission from ground control, advising another airplane of low level wind shear alerts in the northeast quadrants of the airport. At 16:03:33, the first officer requested another wind check. Ground control replied, "Wind now zero seven zero degrees at one seven... peak gusts two three, and we have low level wind shear alerts all quadrants, appears to be a frontal passing overhead right now, we're right in the middle of everything." The captain then advised the first officer to "...let your airspeed build up on takeoff..." and said that they would turn off the air conditioning packs for the takeoff, which would enable them to increase the EPR's on engines Nos. 1 and 3 to 1.92. The flightcrew completed the takeoff and departure briefings and turned onto the active runway for takeoff. At l6:06:22, Flight 759 informed the tower that it was ready for takeoff. The local rontroller cleared the flight for takeoff, and the first officer acknowledged the clearance. About 16:07:57, the Boeing 727 began its takeoff. According to witnesses, the airplane lifted off about 7,000 feet down runway 10, climbed in a wings-level attitude, reached an altitude of about 100 feet to 150 feet above the ground (AGL), and then began to descend towards trees. The airplane crashed into a residential area and was destroyed during the impact, explosion, and subsequent ground fire. Eight persons on the ground were killed. PROBABLE CAUSE: "The airplane's encounter during the lift-off and initial climb phase of flight with a micro-burst induced windshear which imposed a downdraft and a decreasing headwind, the effects of which the pilot would have had difficulty recognizing and reacting to in time for the airplane's descent to be arrested before its impact with trees. Contributing to the accident was the limited capability of current ground based low level windshear detection technology to provide definitive guidance for controllers and pilots for use in avoiding low level wind shear encounters." Events:

Sources: NTSB-AAR-83/02
ARTICLE Captain Kenneth L. McCullers was in good spirits as he settled himself in to the left hand seat of Pan American's Boeing 727-235 (N4737), Flight PA759, and completed his pre-flight checks. Behind him in the cabin, his 137 passengers - 127 of whom were seasoned gamblers heading out of New Orleans on the regular weekend scheduled flight for Las Vegas - were perhaps not so sure. It was approaching four o'clock in the afternoon of July 9, 1982, and the weather at New Orleans International Airport, Kenner, Louisiana, was described later as freaky.

Lashing summer rain beat against the windows and fuselage of the 105-ton aircraft, freshly loaded to capacity with 8,000 gallons of fuel, so hard that it was causing the windshield wipers to drag. Occasional flashes of lightning cracked from the thunderclouds that towered 35,000 feet into the air, and ground winds gusted to over 20mph, despite an ambient air temperature hovering around the 90 mark.

Four cabin crew members calmed the nervous passengers while Captain McCullers and his three companions on the flight deck - co-pilot, engineer, and another Pan Am crewman travelling as a passenger in the jump seat - peered through the windscreen cautiously onto runway 10. At 16:02:34, while McCullers eased his aircraft toward takeoff position, he and his flight crew heard ground control advise another approaching aircraft of low level windshear in the north-east quadrants of the airport, and provide relevant wind directions and speeds. Immediately, Flight 759's first officer asked the tower for another wind check. At 16:03:37 ground control replied winds now zero seven zero degrees at one seven peak gusts two three, and we have low level windshear alerts in all quadrants, appears to be a front passing over right now, we're right in the middle of everything.

Captain McCullers remarked that the take-off was liable to be heavy, but his observation to the First Officer, who was handling the aircraft, sounded almost casual. McCullers was a veteran of several emergencies, including a dramatic in-flight loss of all electrical power on New Years Day 1979, after which he had been commended for bringing a heavily laden passenger jet to a safe landing in Houston. Air crews found him 'comfortable to fly with.' There was no question of his flying ability and judgement, there was never any doubt to who was in command, said one Pan Am pilot.

While Flight 759 stood on the tarmac during the three minute wait for take-off clearance, McCullers ran through abort instructions with his first officer. Then as a safety measure, he told his co-pilot to ..let your airspeed build up on take-off and said that they would turn off the air-conditioning packs, which would enable them to increase the EPR on engines 1 and 3 to 1.92. The target EPRs were 1.90 on engines 1 and 3, and 1.92 on engine 2. At 16:07:57, Flight 759 began its takeoff roll toward the east of the airport, with gusty, variable and rain laden winds swirling directly at its nose. McCullers and crew held the Boeing on the ground until 158 knots indicated airspeed was reached; seven knots above the aircraft's V2 takeoff safety speed of 151kt. About three dozen witnesses, several of them qualified pilots, saw flight 759 lift off about 7,000ft down runway 10 in, to quote one airline pilot, a normal rotation, lift off and initial climb segment. But it reached a height of only 100-150 feet before beginning to descend in a steep nose up attitude. At approximately 16:09, it clipped trees while veering to the left, struck a powerline, and crashed into the

the middle-class suburb of Kenner, fireballing and destroying six houses, damaging a further five, and killing eight people on the ground. All 145 on board were killed.

The crash was the second worst accident in the history of American aviation at the time. The NTSB found that windshear on the runway and environent during the critical liftoff period was responsible, and lamented the fact that no accurate windshear forecasting technology was available for ground controllers or pilots at the time.

ARTICLE

It was a typical summer afternoon on the Gulf coast on July 9, 1982 when Pan Am flight 759 was preparing to depart New Orleans enroute to Las Vegas. Scattered clouds lay below thunderstorms and rain showers throughout the area. On the flight deck was Captain Kenneth McCullers, First Officer Donald Pierce, and Flight Engineer Leo Noone. Along with 136 passengers, there were four cabin attendants onboard the Boeing 727. Just after the doors were closed on the aircraft, a heavy rain began to fall. As 759 taxied out to runway 10, the current ATIS was reporting the wind calm. Before reaching the departure end of the runway, Pierce asked again for the current wind, which was now 040 at 8kts. Now at the departure end of the runway, the controller announced that the winds had become 060 at 15kts, with gusts to 25kts.

He also announced a low-level windshear alert with winds at the northeast end of the field from the north at 10kts and from the southeast at 3kts in the northwest end of the field. Pierce gave another call as 759 waited to take the runway, learning the wind was now 070 at 17, the controller saying "...appears the front is passing overhead right now...we're right in the middle of everything." Just after an incoming aircraft had touched down, 759 was cleared for takeoff. As 759 was starting it's roll, the controller advised an inbound aircraft that the previous aircraft had encountered a 10kt windshear on final.

Fully loaded, flight 759 finally lifted off nearly 7,000ft down the runway. After climbing to about 100ft, the aircraft then began to sink. Still in a nose-up attitude of about 10 degrees, the aircraft disappeared behind trees and exploded into a huge fireball. The aircraft had impacted in a residential area, destroying houses and cars for nearly three city blocks. All 144 aboard the aircraft and 8 on the ground were killed.

......The damage to the aircraft was so extensive that little could be revealed about the aircraft's condition at the time of the accident. However, investigators were able to determine that the flaps and slats were extended properly. Also, the engine gauges revealed that the engines had all been set to a high EPR at the time of the crash. No evidence of engine malfunction could be found. Recovery of the FDR showed that everything was functioning normally throughout the short flight. The CVR was badly distorted, but with noise filtering, some of the recording was decipherable. After learning of the lowlevel windshear alert, the McCullers told Pierce to "Let your airspeed build up on takeoff" and suggested they turn off the air conditioning packs for takeoff, allowing them to get a higher EPR from the engines. McCullers also suggested that they turn slightly to the left on takeoff to avoid the worst of the weather.

The aircraft began it's takeoff roll with Pierce flying, McCullers calling out the airspeed. Twelve seconds after rotation, McCullers said "Come on back...you're sinking Don...come on back!" Another twelve seconds later, the GPWS sounded and the aircraft impacted the ground at 149kts. More than 100 people witnessed 759's short flight and provided valuable insight as to the cause. Only four people saw lightning at the time and said it was not in the vicinity of the crash. Only one person reported hearing thunder. Reports varied about the intensity of the rain, but all seemed to agree that it was at least moderate. Reports of the wind direction and velocity also varied, but many described it as gusty and variable. The aircraft that departed prior to 759 on runway 10 reported a storm cell directly over the airport.

Another aircraft which departed runway 19 prior to 759 also reported several storm cells all around the airport, the largest lying to the east-northeast which had a gradient which "was very steep". The Captain of the aircraft reported that they encountered heavy rain and windshear during the takeoff roll. The aircraft drifted towards the runway edge and the Captain elected to rotate the aircraft early to avoid going off the runway. However, the next aircraft to depart 19 reported neither turbulence nor windshear. A business jet waiting for takeoff at runway 19 just prior to the accident reported seeing two cells of severe intensity just east of the airport, each of which were some 4nm in diameter. The crew reported that these cells had been the reason why they had not elected to depart runway 10. About an hour before the accident, the Centre Weather meteorologist called the tower to advise them of intense thunderstorms with lightning, severe turbulence, and wind gusts southwest of the airport.

He advised the tower that they were moving northeast and to "keep an eye on them." This warning however was only to alert the controllers of possible delays on departure and arrival and the tower was not required to pass this information on to flight crews. Collection of radar images at the time of the accident showed level 3 or greater storm cells to the east of and over the departure end of runway 10. Rainfall gauges near the departure end indicated a rate of over two inches/hour but could have reached upwards of nearly six inches/hour.

Two seconds after the accident, there was another windshear alert. Based on the sensor data, it was estimated that 759 initially encountered a 14kt headwind which changed to a 5kt tailwind near the departure end. This 19kt difference occurred in less than 1nm. Witnesses on the ground reported wind strength of even greater magnitude than was recorded by the sensors, indicating the shear could have been as great as 40kts. Based on the meteorological data, investigators concluded that 759 encountered a microburst, penetrating the centre of it just after rotation where it then encountered a decreasing shear of 48kts as it flew into the backside, encountering downdrafts of around 600feet/minute. Investigators also concluded that, given the limited visual cues available due to the heavy rain, the actions of McCullers and Pierce were as prompt as could be expected. Evidence at the crash site indicated that they had actually stopped the descent and entered a slight climb just prior to hitting trees.