COPYRIGHT: NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHICValuJet Flight 592
was a flight that crashed on
May 11, 1996 en route from
Miami International Airport in
Miami, Florida to Hartsfield
International Airport (now
known as Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport)
in Atlanta, Georgia. The crash
destroyed the credibility of
the low-cost car
more

COPYRIGHT: NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHICValuJet Flight 592
was a flight that crashed on
May 11, 1996 en route from
Miami International Airport in
Miami, Florida to Hartsfield
International Airport (now
known as Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport)
in Atlanta, Georgia. The crash
destroyed the credibility of
the low-cost carrier ValuJet
Airlines.The 27 year old DC-9
aircraft on this route,
N904VJ, previously owned by
Delta Air Lines, took off
after a delay of 1 hour and 4
minutes at 2:04 pm and began a
normal climb, however at 2:10
p.m. asked air traffic control
for a return to Miami due to
smoke in the cockpit and
cabin. Captain Candi Kubeck
and First Officer Richard
Hazen were given instructions
for a return to the airport.
Seconds later, shouts of
'fire, fire, fire, fire' were
recorded on the plane's
cockpit voice recorder coming
from the cabin. A flight
attendant opened the cockpit
door and informed the flight
crew that the cabin was on
fire, even though the ValuJet
flight attendant manual stated
that the cockpit door should
not be opened when smoke or
other harmful gases may be
present in the cabin. The
plane's interior was
completely on fire.Flight 592
disappeared from radar at 2:14
p.m. It crashed in Browns Farm
Wildlife Management area in
the Everglades, a few miles
west of Miami. Kubeck, Hazen,
the three flight attendants
and all 105 passengers aboard
were killed. Recovery of the
aircraft and victims was made
extremely difficult by the
location of the crash. The
nearest road of any kind was
more than a quarter of a mile
(401 m) away from the crash
scene, and the location of the
crash itself was summarized as
deep-water swamp with a
bedrock base. The DC-9
shattered on impact with the
bedrock, leaving very few
large portions of the plane
intact. Sawgrass, alligators,
and risk of bacterial
infection from cuts plagued
searchers involved in the
recovery effort. Passengers
killed included San Diego
Chargers running back Rodney
Culver, former University of
Miami offensive lineman Robert
Woodus, and songwriter and
musician Walter Hyatt.

Category Film & Animation

Tags Air, accident, crash, plane, disaster, florida, DC-9, 1996, valujet, everglades