Flight 799 was one of a series of aircraft losses resulting proximately from failures in checklist design and implementation . Unfortunately , it took 18 years for NTSB 's recommendation in the 1969 crash report that " Air carrier cockpit checklists to be reviewed in an effort to ensure that each list provides a means of reminding the crew , immediately prior to takeoff , that all items critical for safe flight have been accomplished " to be implemented . After the August 16 , 1987 loss of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 for similar reasons , NTSB recommended that Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) convene a human-performance research group to determine “ ... if there is any type or method of presenting a checklist which produces better performance on part of user personnel , ” and for the FAA to recommend checklist typography criteria for commercial operators . In due course , these recommendations led to a sea change in checklist design and implementation , incorporating human-factors research and Crew resource management into cockpit management
Northwest Airlines Flight 255
Northwest Airlines Flight 255
Pan Am Flight 799