| Abstract |
On January 11, 1983, United Airlines Flight 2885, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-54F, N8053U, was being operated as a regularly scheduled cargo flight from Cleveland, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California, with an en route stop at Detroit, Michigan. At the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport the takeoff roll was normal, and the airplane rotated to takeoff altitude one-half to two-thirds of the way down runway 21R. After liftoff, the airplane's pitch altitude steepened abnormally, and it climbed to about 1,000 feet above ground level. The airplane then rolled to the right and descended rapidly to the ground. An explosion and fireball occurred at impact. The airplane was destroyed by impact and by the postimpact fire. The flightcrew, consisting of the captain, the first officer, and the second officer, were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the flightcrew's failure to follow procedural checklist requirements and to detect and correct a mistrimmed stabilizer before the airplane became uncontrollable. |
