Turkish Airlines Flight 981

Introduction
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a passenger flight from Turkey to the UK. It crashed after the cargo door blew out resulting a a nose dive, killing 346 people. This was the worst air accident until 1977, when two 747's collided on a runway, killing 583 people.

Pilots
The plane was being controlled by 3 people, Captain Nejat Berköz, First Officer Oral Ulusman and Flight Engineer Erhan Özer. They have 14720 hours combined.

The Crash
After taking off from Orly Airport, Paris, the plane begins climbing normally. But all of a sudden, then the cargo door blows out. The aircraft loses all control after an explosive decompression. It enters a noise dive. People had been sucked out when the cargo door blew out, and the remaining people had to go through the rest. The aircraft manages to begin levelling out, despite having nearly no controls. But it was too late. The aircraft smashes into Ermenonville Forest at 490 mph (800 km/h), 9 minutes after take-off.

American Airlines Flight 96
American Airlines Flight 96 was a passenger flight flying from LA to New York, with stopovers in Detroit, Michigan and Buffalo, New York. The cargo door blew out, damaging controls but the crew managed to land the aircraft. It was the exact same model as Flight 981 and the exact same thing happened to it. This made investigators realise that something was up.

It Happened... Again.
The exact defect that happened two years earlier with AA96 caused this flight to crash. This is because McDonnell Douglas didn't actually change anything.

McDonnell Douglas made the cargo door open outwards when the DC-10 was made, which was different to any other aircraft at the time. And the locking pins and handles that held the door shut weren't fully locked both times.

Flight 981 only went down because 67 people were on Flight 96, but 346 people were on Flight 981, making the aircraft much heavier.

They Knew
When the DC-10 was being made and tested they actually noted that an accident would happen eventually to do with the door. So before they even put the thing on the market they had the knowledge that '''the door fails. '''They were sued, and finally changed their ways.

This was not an air accident because nothing is an accident when you know it's going to happen. An animation showing the incident can be seen on the right.

May those who died rest in peace.

You can see the full investigation papers for download here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422eedde5274a1317000247/8-1976_TC-JAV.pdf