In spite of these recommendations , on March 3 , 1974 , less than two years after the near-loss of Flight 96 , Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed outside Paris , killing all 346 passengers and crew on board in an identical rear cargo door failure . Unlike Flight 96 , where the crew still managed to keep enough flight controls to safely return to Detroit , the pilots of Flight 981 completely lost control of the tail surfaces and all hydraulics . Investigators discovered that the upgrades had never been carried out on this airframe , although the construction logs claimed they had been . One modification had been carried out , the installation of the inspection window , along with a placard beside the door controls printed in English and Turkish that informed the operators how to inspect the latches . The operator in Paris was Algerian and could not read either language , and had been instructed that as long as the locking handle closed , the door was safe . He also noted that he did not have to force the handle , and investigators concluded that it had already been bent on a prior flight
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
American Airlines Flight 96