Old model 'black box' may hurt investigation into tragic flight FINAL Edition

They also will try to determine if the wings' flaps were extended for takeoff. Failure to extend the flaps is thought to be the cause of a Northwest Airlines crash in Detroit Aug. 16. The flaps on a DC-9 are extended with a hydraulically driven worm screw. Several Denver-area pilots told the Ro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWindsor star
Main Author By Kevin Flynn and James Wright Scripps Howard Service
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Windsor, Ont Postmedia Network Inc 17.11.1987
Subjects
DENVER
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Summary:They also will try to determine if the wings' flaps were extended for takeoff. Failure to extend the flaps is thought to be the cause of a Northwest Airlines crash in Detroit Aug. 16. The flaps on a DC-9 are extended with a hydraulically driven worm screw. Several Denver-area pilots told the Rocky Mountain News such a device, once extended, would not retract because of a crash. Donald Hanson, a spokesman for Douglas Aircraft, the maker of the plane, said the pilots could determine the position of the flaps only by the position of a handle in the cockpit. The DC-9 was not equipped with warning devices that might indicate problems with the flaps, he said.