Boeing 727-200, Delta Air Lines Flight 1141

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Boeing 727-200, N473DA, Delta Air Lines c.1988.
(Airfix 727-200 in 1/144 scale, kit #03183 (c) 1966)

Kit is Airfix kit #03183, Boeing 727-200 in "Modern Airliners" boxing, a 1990 re-boxing of the original 1966 vintage kit. The kit is good for its time but pales by modern standards. Paints are rattlecan grey primer and gloss white, with Humbrol Metalcote Polished Aluminium for the bare metal areas. Decals by PointerDog7, purchased back in 2014 on eBay, with home-printed registration number.

Kit is out of the box except for:
- Clear cabin windows poured from 2-part clear acrylic
- Brass rod wing and stabilizer spars for proper dihedral and for rigidity
- Brass 'popsicle stick' stand for in-flight display
- Custom registry decals printed at home to match accident aircraft.

On the 31st of August 1988, the pilots of Delta Air Lines Flight 1411 joined the taxi queue at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, chatting it up with a flight attendant as they waited for their turn to take off. They talked about recent airline accidents, discussed the habits of birds, shared their thoughts on the 1988 presidential election, and joked that they should leave something funny on the cockpit voice recording in case they crashed. Little did they know their words would be prophetic.

Minutes later, Delta flight 1141 failed to become airborne and overran the runway on takeoff. The Boeing 727 slammed back down in a field and burst into flames, killing 14 of the 108 people on board. It didn't take long for investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board to discover why: the pilots, distracted by their off-topic conversation, had failed to configure the plane properly for takeoff.

A tough way to learn about the importance of sterile cockpit rules in critical phases of flight.

May they find peace.

Boeing 727-200, Delta Air Lines Flight 1141

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