the rear lounge area, and the floor under their feet partially collapsed into the cargo hold, giving them both minor injuries. In spite of this, the cabin crew immediately attempted to ensure the oxygen masks had deployed properly, but having occurred below the 14,000 ft limit, the masks had not deployed. One of the attendants obtained a walk-around oxygen bottle and called the cockpit on the intercom to inform them that the damage was in the rear of the aircraft. On instructions from the cockpit, the attendants instructed the passengers on emergency landing procedures. A number of passengers later reported that the aircraft safety cards proved useful in locating the nearest exit. A casket with the body of a woman who had died out of state fell from the cargo hold to the ground near Windsor, Canada. The aircraft returned to Detroit, but, when the crew set the flaps to 35 degrees for landing, the aircraft stabilized in a 1,900 ft/min descent rate that was far too fast for landing. By applying power to the No. 1 and No. 3 Engines, McCormick managed to level off the nose and reduce the descent rate to 700 ft/min. At 7:44 pm, the aircraft touched down 600 m (1,900 ft) down runway 03R, immediately veering to the right and eventually leaving the runway surface. First Officer Whitney applied full reverse thrust to the left engine and idled the right, straightening the aircraft's path, and eventually starting to bring the aircraft back to the runway. The aircraft stopped 270 m (880 ft) from the end of the runway, with the nose and left gear on the runway and the right on the grass beside it. It happened that while training to convert his expertise to flying the DC-10, McCormick had practiced, in a simulator, controlling the plane with the throttles in this fashion, in the worst-case scenario of a hydraulic failure. A similar technique was used on another DC-10 in 1989 following a complete loss of hydraulic pressure on United Airlines Flight 232. Investigation The problem that caused the accident was immediately obvious, as the rear cargo door was missing and had caused severe damage to the left horizontal stabilizer as it blew off. Investigators immediately studied the maintenance history and found that on March 3, 1972, three months before the accident, the handlers reported that the door had not latched electrically and had