We continued to broadcast live for hours into the night, then into the morning. Mr. and Mrs. Louis Ledet were frequent visitors to Las Vegas and were looking forward to another trip when 759 went down. I'm on the air.. Pan Am Flight 759 crashed less than one minute after it took off on a stormy afternoon from New Orleans International Airport on July 9, 1982, killing 154 people. [1]:78 The First Officer was 32-year-old Donald G. Pierce, who had 6,127 flying hours, including 3,914 hours on the Boeing 727. The forecast between 1200 and 2200 indicated "scattered clouds, variable to broken clouds at 3,000 feet (910m), thunderstorms, and moderate rain showers." In addition, 8 people on the ground were killed as the aircraft crashed into and subsequently destroyed multiple houses. News Director Jim Boyer made sure the decision was firm and swift. You can also visit r/admiralcloudberg to read over 100 similar articles. The rain was coming down much harder now. Better training for dealing with wind shear could have decreased their reaction times. But the flight crew had been briefed with a recorded weather advisory that was two hours old, though airport routine is for hourly recordings of weather information. I could smell the jet fuel. Therefore, to make a wind shear recovery, pilots had to deviate from the optimal attitude shown on the flight director, a disconnect that increases reaction times. Where are the houses? I kept thinking to myself, trying to get as much cable from the microwave truck as I could. The passengers on the flight were predominantly American, but there were also people from Australia, Hong Kong, Uruguay, and West Germany onboard the flight. Fijut, James P., 37, steward, Miramar, Fla. 6. Because Delta 191 tends to get all the credit for the program to combat wind shear, Pan Am 759 has descended into relative obscurity, even though it was the catalyst that started the program in the first place. All 145 peole on-board the plane along with eight more . Pan Am flight 759 simulation | Page 2 | O-T Lounge She said, 'No, no.''. Planned in chaos, almost a contradiction in terms, but that is how newsrooms function under extreme pressure. Months later, the story on the radiation spike in the Mississippi River aired in a special 15-minute segment on our 10 p.m. news. A fateful phone call kept Radio DJ Bob Walker, lower right, and his wife Judy (in pink) off Pan Am flight 759 that crashed in Kenner shortly after takeoff in 1982. Frequently, I remember that day and recall those images as if it was just yesterday and quietly reflect on it.