1985 crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Accident details Flight 96 was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to LaGuardia Airport with intermediate stops at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Buffalo Niagara International Airport. On June 12, it was being flown by a DC-10-10, registration N103AA, with a flight crew consisting of Captain Bryce McCormick (age 52); First Officer Peter "Page" Whitney (34); and Flight Engineer Clayton Burke (50). McCormick was a highly experienced pilot, having amassed more than 24,000 flight hours throughout his flying career. Whitney and Burke were also seasoned airmen with approximately 7,900 flight hours and 13,900 flight hours, respectively, under their belts. Among them, the crew had accumulated 176 hours of flight time in the DC-10. The flight left Los Angeles 46 minutes after its scheduled 1:30 pm departure due to passenger loading and traffic and arrived in Detroit at 6:36 pm. In Detroit, the majority of the passengers disembarked, and the plane took on new passengers and cargo. Leaving Detroit, the aircraft had 56 passengers and 11 crew. The plane departed at 7:20 pm, climbing to 6,000 for a hold, before capturing V-554 (a victor airway) and climbing to Flight Level 210 (21,000 ft). At 7:25 pm, while climbing through 11,750 ft, at 260 knots, the crew heard a distinct "thud" and dirt in the cockpit flew up into their faces. The "thud" was the sound of the rearmost cargo door breaking off, causing a sudden decompression that also caused part of the floor at the rear of the cabin to partially give way. Captain McCormick momentarily believed they had suffered a mid-air collision and the cockpit windows had been smashed. At the same time, the rudder pedals moved to their full-right position and the engine controls moved to idle. McCormick immediately took manual control of the aircraft and attempted to re-apply power, finding that engines 1 and 3 would respond normally, but engine 2, in the tail, would not allow its controls to be moved, as control cables had been severed when the floor gave way. McCormick managed to level off and stabilize the speed at 250 knots, although at this speed control was very sluggish. They declared an emergency and requested routing back to Detroit. In the cabin, the flight attendants saw a "fog" form within the cabin and immediately recognized it as a depressurization. Two crews were in