Lockheed L-1011-385-1 accident near Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas, August 2, 1985
On August 2, 1985 at about 11:06 pm local time, a Lockheed L-1011-385-1, registered N726DA, was destroyed in an accident near Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 134 people were killed, 15 people were seriously injured and 12 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 2, 1985 · about 11:06 pm local time
- Place
- Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas · Dallas/Fort Worth Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 134 people were killed, 15 people were seriously injured and 12 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L-1011-385-1 L-1011-385
- Registration
- N726DA · no longer on the register · serial 193C-1163
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report on this investigation is provided as Aviation Accident Report number AAR-86/05. To obtain a copy of this report, or to view the executive summary online, please see the Web site at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm PSBL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS (TSTMS) WERE FORCAST & DRG ARRIVAL, SVRL CELLS WERE DEVELOPING IN THE AREA. DELTA FLT 191 WAS VECTORED ARND A LARGE CELL, THEN WAS SEQUENCED BHND OTHER ACFT & CLRD FOR AN ILS RWY 17L APCH. THE FLT CREW & SVRL PRECEEDING CREWS SAW LIGHTNING IN A CELL NORTH OF THE ARPT, BUT CONTD W/O RPRTG IT. ON THE APCH, FLT 191 ENCOUNTERED A MICROBURST WHILE PASSING UNDER THE CELL. INITIALLY, THE 1ST OFFICER, WHO WAS FLYING THE ACFT, RETARDED THE THROTTLES IN A HEADWIND. THE ACFT THEN ENCOUNTERED APRX 73 KTS OF WINDSHEAR, UP/DWNDFTS, VORTEX FLOW & A TAILWIND. GO-AROUND PWR WAS APPLIED, BUT THE ACFT STRUCK THE GND APRX 6300' NORTH OF RWY 17L, HIT A CAR & 2 WATER TANKS, BROKE APART & BURNED. INV REVEALED THAT BTN 1752 & 1800 CDT, THE TSTM CELL GREW FM VIP LVL 1 TO VIP LVL 4. A CENTER WX SVC UNIT METEOROLOGIST WAS ON DUTY, BUT NOT AT THE RADAR PSN AT THAT TIME & DIDN'T OBSV THE CELL GROWTH. CAPT'S DECISION TO CONT APCH DIDN'T COMPLYWITH DELTA'S WX AVOIDANCE PROC; THERE WAS A LACK OF SPECIFIC GUIDANCE & TRAINING FOR AVOIDING/ESCAPING LOW ALT WNDSHEAR.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 29,300 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 166 in the last 90 days; 81 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 430,000 lb
- Seats: 302
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB-211-22B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FLL Ft. Lauderdale FL
- Destination: DFW
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17L, 11,388 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 100°F (38°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | 1 | 2 | |
| Passengers | 126 | 14 | 10 | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.