May 11, 1996: ValuJet Flight 592 crashes into Everglades, killing 110
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It was one of the saddest and most surreal airliner tragedies in the nation's history. Smoke appeared in the cabin of a ValuJet DC-9 minutes after takeoff from Miami International Airport on Mother's Day in 1996. The plane then disappeared off the radar screen, 20 miles west of Miami. When rescuers arrived at the swampy crash site, the plane was gone. But they knew something violent and horrible had happened - shredded pieces of the plane and its victims were floating in the water, just below the surface. It was immediately clear that all 110 passengers and crew members had lost their lives.
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Above, a ValuJet DC-9 similar to the one lost in the crash of Flight 592. Below: the crash site 20 miles west of Miami, now considered hallowed ground
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The memorial to victims of Flight 592
Months later, investigators determined the cause: canisters that generated oxygen for the plane's emergency system had been stored improperly, creating a spark and igniting tires in the cargo hold. The fire destroyed steering cables under the cockpit and smoke filled the cabin. The pilots lost control and the plane plummeted into the swamp at top speed. New safety regulations were imposed by the FAA to improve handling of oxygen canisters. And for relatives of the 110 people who lost their lives, the crash site is considered hallowed ground. A memorial was erected about eight miles away off Tamiami Trail -- 110 stone monuments arranged in the shape of an arrow, pointing toward the site where Flight 592 was lost.
Read a CNN special report on the crash and its aftermath • Read a story in The Atlantic: Lessons of Valujet 592
Read a CNN special report on the crash and its aftermath • Read a story in The Atlantic: Lessons of Valujet 592