Goodness - how the memories of that day and the aftermath come flooding back. I had positioned to DFW from LGW that day with Brannif as we had crew sickness and I was called to work the return flight the next day. I travelled on the Big Orange as it was called (think what sensational service was offered to the First Class passengers!). We landed at about 2.30 - I think and I went to the hotel. As I got there the DC10 had gone down and the scenes were horrific. I remembered my rage when a camera crew raced to LAX to capture the moment that people realised that the ones that they loved would not be coming home ever. Someone even had the effrontery to ask how they were feeling!

Yes I had forgotten the grounding of the DC10 and remember that there was a court case. BCAL were only a tiny airline and we suddenly had to put our 707s back into service to IAH, DFW, and STL - those I do remember. It nearly broke us as we had to charter aircraft and this ban affected most major European airlines except Air France and British Airways who did not operate the type.

What I also recall was that United had been on strike (please correct me if I am wrong) and so lots more people were using AA, CO, and TW than normal. I recall that AA offered us all vouchers offering us 50% off our next flight to compete with UA who were offering these to their passengers who had been affected by their strike. We had to travel back to BOS on AA - a 727 - as we were cancelled as our aicraft was grounded in the UK. I recall that the flight left at 14.01 and so only a sandwich was offered when we thought that we would get lunch.

The Buffalo incident was indeed a cargo door blowing out and the passenger floor collapsing and partly severing the controls that ran through the floor. A similar incident occurred a year later over Ermenonville in France to a THY aircraft. All were lost in the accident that occurred. Our pilots who trained at Long Beach told us that the Douglas (as it was then) trainers had had the THY pilots in for training and told us that not one of them would ever have been accredited to fly the type on any US airline.

Often on this Board concern ourselves with lunch, dinner, power outles and other weighty matters. We sometimes forget the fundementals. To the Poster whose husband should have been on that flight - thank you for sharing that with us - sometimes one really can see the hand of God at work.