There's a lot more to this story than the video depicts. I was a pilot at Delta at the time of the accident (727 engineer). I interviewed at Delta the same day as the engineer (Steven Judd) and he was in the new-hire class right behind me. The flight originated in Jackson (I think) earlier that morning and after stopping at DFW was continuing to SLC. The left wing fuel gauge was inop so the fueler has to "stick" the tank to determine the correct quantity in that tank; not a big deal but still something out of the ordinary. SOP calls for taxiing out on 2 engines for a 3 engined airplane, and taxiing out on 1 engine on a 2 engined airplane. The video says that they started all 3 engines before taxiing, and then shut down number 3 after realizing there would be a takeoff delay. Not sure if that is correct. Most likely they just started numbers 1 and 2, and planned on starting #3 shortly before takeoff. Delta's terminal is on the east side of the airport, and they took off on runway 18L on the west side. It's a considerable taxi distance and once they got to the west side they saw that they were about number 25 for takeoff and it was going to be at least 30 minutes before it would be their turn. That is when all the unnecessary cockpit conversation with the flight attendants occurred; while slowly creeping along on the taxiway, not after they were cleared into position on the runway. The cockpit door would have been closed and locked prior to positioning on the runway. The flight 191 crash that they were referencing the media always talking about was Delta flight 191 (L-1011) that crashed at DFW in Aug 1985 due to windshear. They then were comparing that to American flight 191 (DC-10) that crashed at ORD previously that was caused by the left engine separating from the wing due to unapproved engine change procedure. When investigators examined the cockpit, the flap handle was in the up position leading to the assumption that the flaps and slats were not deployed. However, the takeoff warning horn (very loud and obnoxious) didn't sound. The video states that there was a known intermittent defect in the system but that is something I've never heard. That would be a downing discrepancy and therefore a no-go item. The takeoff warning system was removed and bench tested and tested ok. Several passengers that were sitting over the wing testified at the NTSB hearing that they were "flap watchers" and said that the flaps were deployed for takeoff. The right wing caught on fire and was consumed. The left wing (with inop fuel gauge) was basically intact but with no fuel in it; that's why it didn't burn. There was some speculation that the left wing was never fueled and that possibly there was a 10,000 lb fuel imbalance which would lead to obvious control problems. With no fuel in the wing after the crash, either it had not been fueled or the wing cracked open and the fuel leaked out. During the accident investigation, a soil sample taken under the wing would show whether fuel leaked out of the wing or if the wing had ever had any fuel in it; no soil sample was ever taken. The tower controllers testified that there was a shower of sparks coming from the tail skid indicating that it was dragging on the ground during rotation (high AOA), and there were puffs of fire coming out of the #2 engine (compressor stall caused by the high body angle, blocking the airflow to the #2 intake). I later met a Delta captain that had met the man who was the chief NTSB investigator for this accident. The investigator said that when they got to the crash site to examine the airplane, the #1 and #2 engines were full of grass and dirt like you would expect (engines running as the airplane plowed along the ground). The #3 engine was clean as a whistle, indicating that the engine wasn't running at ground impact: they never started it. All 3 pilots were fired about a week after the crash. The Delta pilot group was outraged at the quickness of their termination as no facts about the cause had been released yet, but I remember the vice president of flight ops (Harry Alger) stating that if we knew what he knew , then we would know that their termination was justified. The engineer (Judd) was quietly hired back several years later after the final accident report was released by the NTSB, and Judd wasn't mentioned much in the report. I always speculated that he had some information about the crash and what was released by the NTSB and it would cause embarrassment to the FAA, NTSB, and Delta if he went to the press and told his story, so Delta hired him back to keep him quiet. That's purely my opinion, I don't have any proof to back this up other than there was so much circumstantial evidence and things about the investigation that just don't add up.

The fact that the crew joked about crashing but ended up crashing makes this 10x more horrifying.

Our veterinarian was on that plane. Thankfully, he survived and is still alive and practicing today in 2022.

An interesting story about the flight engineer Steven Judd: He didn't take part in the rule-breaking conversation that day and the NTSB did not put any blame on him. However, after this crash, he was fired by Delta and was unable to find jobs with other Airlines. He then appealed his firing and was reinstated by Delta. According to his LinkedIn profile, he's now a Boeing 777 Captain still flying with Delta.

The fact that 94 of 108 of those on board survived was amazing.

I had a military instructor tell me once. “We don’t pay u to memorize the checklist. We pay u to RUN the checklist”. Forced to touch every switch.

My mother was in Dallas for a library conference and she was saying at the hotel that overlooked the airport. She was watching out the window when the plane crashed. She said it was the most horrifying thing she'd ever seen. It was so hard for her to get back on an airplane after seeing that to fly back home.

They became complacent. My father was a pilot and he always said that the biggest danger with experience is complacency. You become too relaxed and cut corners because you think you’re better than rules and procedures. Another perfect example here. Rip to all that perished.

I am surprised so many passengers survived this easily preventable accident. I'm glad they did.

I'm surprised 94 people did survive. RIP for the 14 who did not. And some of the 26 who suffered injuries were probably permanently disabled and in pain from that time onward. Tragic. The remaining 68 who apparently walked away from the crash uninjured were very lucky to say the least. They only had to deal with their subsequent nightmares while trying to get a decent night's sleep.

Odd statement: "Of 108 people on board,

That scream at

My husband & I flew over the wreckage of this plane a day or so after the crash while taking a flight out of DFW. I’ll never forget seeing it…

Hearing the screams of the flight crew right before impact always makes my heart pound. It’s absolutely heartbreaking 💔

My wife was landing at DFW just an hour after this happened. She said it was shocking to be coming to the airport to land with the wreckage still smoking at edge of the airport. And, she had been throwing up the whole flight due to turbulence, so this was like the worst thing to see at that point.

As a former flight attendant for over a decade, this is horrifying. I know things have improved a lot since the 80's, but still, the rules were there for a reason. It's amazing as many people survived as they did from such a crash. RIP to those that didn't make it.

"We gotta leave something for our wife and children to listen to."

So weird how life works...Literally spoke their fate into existence 😶

Thank you to you pilots who do all you do to keep us as safe as possible.

I was onboard that plane from Jackson, Ms to Dallas. As I took a taxi from DFW, I saw the smoke billowing from the airport. I found later that day it was the same plane I had traveled to DWF! I distinctly recall saying my prayers before our take off and landing!