ABSTRACT
Turkish Airlines flight 981 from Ankara took off from Paris at 12.30 pm on 3 March 1974 and headed for London. The airline had bought three DC-10s for £25 million in 1973, and the one that crashed was the first to be delivered. More than 100 of the type were in service. In June 1972 a DC-10 had been badly damaged by cargo door failure while flying over Windsor, Ontario. Modifications, recommended by McDonnell-Douglas the manufacturers, were designed to make sure that the cargo door was always closed properly; if it was not, the aircraft interior could not be pressurized. Provided that the top part of the latch passes beyond the centre point of its arc, the force created by pressurization will be transmitted to the door structure. A locking-pin system was incorporated to ensure that the top part of the latch actually did go over-centre.
