On May 25, 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 was scheduled to fly nonstop from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Los Angeles. Operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the flight unfortunately met its untimely demise before it could even put some distance between itself and the Windy City. The events of Flight 191 continue to haunt Chicago to this day.

But, according to several accounts, not all of Flight 191's passengers were ready to move on. In the years since the disaster, there have been numerous reports of strange sightings and unexplained phenomena near the crash site, stories that suggest the tragedy may have left more than just a mark in the history books.

The Tragedy of Flight 191

American Airlines Flight 191 was a scheduled nonstop flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The aircraft, registered as N110AA, had been in service with American Airlines for approximately seven years, logging over 20,000 hours of flight time. 

There were 271 passengers and crew onboard, including Captain Walter Lux, First Officer James Dillard, and Flight Engineer Alfred Udovich. The flight crew had an abundance of experience on type and as aviators; between them, they shared more than 25,000 hours of flight time. It was also a perfect-weather holiday weekend, making for some beautiful flying up ahead.

The DC-10’s engines roared into life as it pushed back from the gate eleven minutes behind schedule; nothing to write home about. However, some on board certainly did want to write home. For Vicky Chen Haider, fiction editor for Playboy, it would be the first time she would be leaving her one-year-old son to travel. He was at home with her husband.

Also on the flight were some other notable individuals, including Itzhak “Ben” Bentov, inventor of the steerable cardiac catheter, and Francis Gemme, President of Children’s Press in Chicago. Also from Playboy, Sheldon Wax and his wife Judith were on board, with Judith attending a literary convention. She had not been feeling well and was convinced to tag along with her husband.

Someone who had not been convinced to take the flight was Laurence Gonzales, a writer who had a close relationship with Playboy but left to pursue his writing dreams full-time. Sheldon Wax had been the one hoping to succeed in convincing Gonzales to attend the convention in LA. But, like any good aviation enthusiast, he had done his research. Gonzales had his reservations regarding the state of the McDonnell Douglas company at the time, outlining previous accidents and the company’s subpar financial status.

With none of the 258 patrons suspecting the worst, N110AA taxied to its departure runway. Meanwhile, many avid planespotters stood by to capture the ‘Luxury Liner’ departing for the West Coast. The most important ‘spotter’ out there, though — Edward Rucker, the air traffic controller responsible for Flight 191’s departure — was busy coordinating its movements.

At 3:02 p.m., Flight 191 barreled down runway 32R. Onboard the aircraft, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. On the ground, however, eyewitnesses could tell that something was off. Rucker noticed a white, misty trail coming from the left wing, with the number one (left) engine shaking while the aircraft made its way down the runway. 

As the DC-10 left the ground, Rucker saw the number one engine separate from the wing, following the airflow over it, flying behind the aircraft, and falling back down onto the runway. The aircraft continued to fly, with the crew very likely unaware of what had just happened.

Side Note: Jet engines are designed to detach from the wing in this manner in order not to cause further catastrophic damage to the airframe, and it is likely to go unnoticed by the operating crew when it happens, apart from the complete absence of any engine indications.

Captain Lux, First Officer Dillard, and Engineer Udovich very quickly realized the engine failure and continued to execute the takeoff emergency procedure for the situation. Unfortunately, the separation of the engine meant hydraulic and electric lines were severed, robbing pressure from the lines that were keeping the inboard leading edge slats extended.

Under aerodynamic pressure, the slats retracted, drastically reducing the stall speed of the left-hand wing, losing all the lift it was producing, and inducing an uncontrollable bank to the left. The aircraft became partially inverted as onlookers watched Flight 191 reach a bank angle of 112 degrees, which was never recovered from.

Controller Edward Rucker watched helplessly as Flight 191 struck the ground 31 seconds after takeoff, 4,600 feet from the end of the runway. Several pieces of the aircraft were launched into a nearby trailer park, destroying five trailers. Due to the nearly full load of fuel onboard and the force of the impact, all pieces of the aircraft were completely destroyed. Investigations found the cause of the crash to be a breach in the pylon attaching the engine to the wing, which had broken due to improper maintenance procedures over a long period of time.

Eerie Reportings

In the months following the crash, the nearby trailer park became a hotspot for unnerving sightings and encounters. Both on- and off-duty Des Plaines police officers found themselves often responding to reports of the paranormal.

Just hours after the crash, several residents in the trailer park noticed something quite intriguing. Just near the crash site, they began to observe what looked like orbs of white light floating above the ground. Erring on the side of caution, they called the authorities rather than investigate themselves. When authorities arrived, they were met with an empty field. Perhaps it was just a trick of the mind, or trespassers carrying flashlights. Perhaps a physical phenomenon from the crash. Or perhaps it was an attempt at communication from the other side.

To this day, nobody knows. All investigations into the orbs found precisely nothing.

While this may be seemingly minor, several residents had much closer encounters with what they deemed to be deceased passengers from Flight 191. Cue several reports of clanging footsteps approaching trailers, knocking on doors, and rapping on windows. Residents were woken out of their sleep and disturbed from their evening meals to find doorknobs being urgently and aggressively twisted.

In these cases, they succumbed to their curiosity. Self-investigation ensued with residents opening curtains and even opening their doors to the knocking and rapping. Expecting to reveal somebody on their doorsteps, they were greeted only with the emptiness of the night.

It’s possible to go even further, though. Several residents found themselves supposedly coming face-to-face with what they deemed to be the passengers of Flight 191. For them, resisting the urge to learn more was futile.

As doors slowly creaked open, residents were met, not by a neighbor or passerby, but by a pale, ghostly figure standing silently on the doorstep. This apparition wasn’t fleeting; it spoke, always repeating the same chilling phrases:

“I have to get my luggage.” 

“I’m gonna miss my connection.”

Examples of one-line exclamations continuously and repeatedly emerging from a distressed visage with no chance of consoling. Why did they seek the assistance of unassuming neighbors? Why reveal themselves to those once placid families who now navigate through life with the imprint of a phantom on their conscience? Even 46 years later, nobody seems closer to an answer.

One evening, a dog walker who originally rejected beliefs of the ‘undead’ found himself confronted by someone who stated he needed to make an emergency phone call. He turned to point at the nearest phone booth, but when he turned back, the man had disappeared.

The dog walker reported the man to be reeking of gasoline and that he appeared to be steaming. No matter — it was surely just his sweat steaming off his body after a run through the cool evening air, right? Not so surely. 

After this encounter, though, the dog walker was sincerely convinced that he had been approached by one of the doomed passengers of American Airlines Flight 191. Who knows whether Vicky, Sheldon, Judith, or any of the 268 others were among the ‘sightings’, just trying to make their way to the other side.

Most of these residents moved away after the encounters, with even new residents experiencing the very same paranormal events.

Blessings in Disguise

Laurence Gonzales, the lucky would-have-been passenger, would quickly learn of the accident, as would everyone across the U.S. that afternoon. Naturally, he rushed to the site to assess the extent of the crash. His biggest horror was that all 271 passengers and crew were dead, which meant Sheldon and Judith were too. For years, he wondered what twisted trick of fate caused him to turn down his colleague's flight and narrowly avoid death.

Today, Gonzales and hundreds of others frequent the memorial brick wall near the crash site at the corner of Lee Street and Touhy Avenue in Des Plaines, Illinois. Some do so in memory of those they have lost, while others do so in awe that their name could just as easily have been inscribed on that wall. It is a stark reminder of the world’s entropic nature, satisfying the notion of many: “whatever will be will be.”

Whilst the crash of Flight 191 doesn’t amount to the same numbers as an equivalent natural disaster, for example, it holds its place as the deadliest aviation accident to occur in the United States. With the area still being infested by reminders of the dead, the events of Flight 191 are something that Chicago residents continue to find difficult to talk about.

Some clearly more than others.