Northwest Flight 255 Crash - August 16, 1987

Events happen in your life that stick with you no matter how much time passes. The Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crash on August 16, 1987 was one of those events for me. At the time, I was the Agency Sales Manager of Northwest Airlines in the Boston, MA office.

I received a phone call while sitting at my home advising me about the crash, which took place in Detroit. The crash happened at 8:46 pm EDT. My instructions were to get on the next flight from Boston to Detroit. My responsibility was to be part of the team to support the family members of the victims of the crash. I must admit, I was quite anxious to get on a plane, but decided I had to let go of my anxiety and do my job. No idea what to expect or how I was going react to this horrific situation. Had to trust myself and realize the families needed my support as they tried to navigate through this situation. I had to dig deep.

It was a terrible sight to see the mass destruction below as we approached the Detroit airport. Plane parts and all kinds of debris were scattered from what appeared to be for miles. I took a deep breath and tried to collect myself. Once we landed, walking down the jetway seemed like forever. My mind started to race, as I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was it was going to be something I had never been through before.

From the plane, I had instructions to go to the Director of Operations office. It is here where the Northwest Team gathered to get further instructions. It got down to we were each assigned a family or families of victims of the crash. My assignment was for the families of two young girls that were cousins traveling together to Phoenix. One girl was from Detroit and the other from Phoenix.

The airport soon become filled with families in shock as they arrived at the airport either by car or being flown in. It was a challenge to locate the families at this time as there were no cell phones. After finally locating the family members, I was able to check them into a hotel and provide them with the next steps. The look in the eyes of the parents was heart breaking. Here I was a perfect stranger trying to provide some level of comfort. I came to the conclusion, all I could do was try to help them sort through all the logistics required. The worst logistic was going to the hanger where the human remains and clothing etc were placed on tables. The families had to try to identify the body or some personal belonging. Can’t begin to express what that experience was like in terms of the visual, smells, and emotions. It took more than one visit.

The parents were successful with the search, which provided some type of relief - but no way would they ever be able to get past their emotions. From there, the logistics included arranging the funeral for one child in Detroit and flying the other child’s remains to Phoenix.

It was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 that crashed. The results were six crew members and 148 passengers died along with two people on the ground. The only survivor was a 4-year old girl, who suffered serious injuries.

Looking back, I thought it was an event I was never prepared to deal with at any level. Since then, I have a much different appreciation for people that are the first responders. I’m not referring to me and my team, but rather the people that were on the ground immediately after the crash. Their job was far more difficult and emotional trying than mine. I can’t imagine they will ever forget this tragic experience. To be a first responder to any type of tragedy takes a very special person. I salute them all.